I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me
by AlphaWriter1
Summary: High school changes even the strongest of friendships. Four teenagers learned this lesson the hard way. Now, at the start of their junior year, they're completely different people than they were all those years ago. Watch as the universe steps back in and tries to right a wrong made by four students who thought that they had the world all figured out. (A Lucaya and Riarkle story)
1. An Introduction

**I Don't Wanna Be Anything Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Series  
An Introduction**

 _ **A/N: So, I had this idea jumping around in my head and I thought I'd try to flesh it out. Let me know what you guys think of it so far. I'll admit that the first chapter is a little awkward because I tried to save what character had what label until the end of their section so it probably gets a little weird to read at times but if you stick with me I promise that the next chapter is going to have you guys hooked. Since this story is NOTHING like the canon, it may take me a little more time between chapters because I'll be working on my own background information and making sure everything remains consistent. I can't wait to hear what you all think!**_

* * *

 _But you've become somebody else around everyone else  
You're watching your back like you can't relax  
You're trying to be cool but you look like a cool to me. _

High school was hard.

Friendships ended and people changed.

Everything suddenly became different as soon as there was a change of scenery and those changes were not always made for the better. The only thing that could be said about the changes that involved positive words was that the changes occurred for good. They were permanent and there was no going back once the changes had been made.

Many had tried and just as many had failed. The person that you became after walking through the doors of what would be your school for the next four years was the person you would have to be for the next four years. You didn't get any second chances and you didn't get to have any do-overs. There was no sense in trying.

For those who had been "kings" back in middle school-positioned on the top of the food chain with a warped sense of the world-it was a hard concept to grasp. Reality kicked in and tore them apart, leaving them confused and unsure of what to do next.

When they had always assumed the the world revolved around them, they didn't know what to do when people had their own problems. When some people didn't even know who they were. They didn't respond well to being nothing.

Four students at Abigail Adams High School learned this lesson the hard way. Back at John Quincy Adams Middle School, they had ruled. Their teacher focused all of their lessons on the four friends, making them feel as though they were important. Everybody knew their name and everybody knew about the drama that occurred between their group of friends. They were the ones who everybody cared about.

Once they hit the ninth grade, though, everything changed. Their interests dragged them apart at fist. They struggled to remain the best of friends. Eventually, though, they weren't seeing one another in their classes and they weren't seeing one another after school. They weren't ever together and they drifted. Their incredible little foursome was torn apart and that was all there was to it. It was the end of an era.

Soon, nobody knew their names. They weren't important. They were just small fish in a big pool. They were insignificant.

Slowly, they found their place in the school. They figured out where they belonged and they made new friends. They found their way.

One of them became a cheerleader. She was the most popular girl in their class and she was the school's good girl, walking around with a perfect reputation. She seemed flawless, at least on the surface. But, of course, she had a secret to hide. A secret that she worked hard to keep from the rest of the school. Not because she worried about what it would do to her image or her popularity. She hid it because it was too personal to share.

Another one became the most popular boy, fighting to earn his place as the all-star Athlete. He was far from being Mr. Perfect, though. But, the question that remained was whether his tough exterior was just an act-a mask that he wore to keep the rest of the world out, so that could never learn the truth about him.

A third member of the former group became lost. She instead spent her day watching life happen around her. She want from being the center of it all to a silent observer, taking it all in. She was a journalist and a reporter. Her life was spent in the yearbook room or the dark room.

And the final member was the dork. He was mocked and taunted. He was teased. Those who didn't spend their days making his life miserable didn't know he existed.

But, before their four years were over, they tried to break all of the rules.

* * *

 _Small town homecoming queen  
She's the star of this scene  
Theres no way to deny she's lovely _

The cheerleader glanced in the mirror, smirking at her reflection.

Everything about her was absolutely perfect. From her wardrobe to her hair to her makeup. Perfection was something that she strived for. She spent her days figuring out the best way appear as though every single aspect of her life was flawless and gave off an air that she was just a little bit better than those around her.

Her tan, pleated skirt with a large bow on the front fell perfectly to the middle of her thighs. A black, off the shoulder crop top showed off just a sliver of her stomach. Black, over the knee socks covered up her long, toned legs and a pair of tan, suede ankle boots with a high heel added about four inches to her height.

She had a tan leather jacket tossed carelessly on her king sized bead and a matching oversized purse sat besides it and her black and brown canvas and leather backpack tossed on the floor of her room near the door.

Every part of her outfit was designer, thanks to her step-father and his extravagant job. She figured it was the least he could do for her-spend a small fortune on her wardrobe.

She made her way towards her jewelry box, the golden locket she always wore swinging around her neck as she walked. She added a rose-gold bangle and a pair of matching hoop earrings. Placing a black headband to hold back her perfect, soft and glossy locks, she blew a kiss at her reflection and made her way out of her room.

Walking out of the penthouse suite that her stepfather rented at the best hotel in the city, she knew that she was somebody to be envious of. She knew that all of her friends thought she was the luckiest girl in at school.

So, why did she feel so sad?

Why did she feel so _awful_ all the time?

Shaking off those negative thoughts, she forced her pink, heart-shaped mouth into a smile and thought of the photo of her birth father resting inside her locket, knowing that that never failed to make her eyes sparkly brighter than ever.

Pressing the elevator button, calling it up to the top floor, she stared at her reflection in the gold, mirrored doors.

Strands of curly, buttery blonde hair tumbled down her back, stopping at her waist, in a tangle of wild, unmanageable tangles. Her wide, doe-like, denim blue eyes were a deep shade of navy and the pupils were decorated with a tiny gold speck on the inside of each pupil, towards her slightly ski-sloped nose. She had a heart-shaped face with round, beautiful features.

While she was short-standing at five foot on the dot-her legs seemed to go on for days. She had a perky ass and wide hips, with a flat stomach and a narrow waist. Her chest jutted out and her curves were the reason for most of the male attention that she received.

The elevator doors opened and she climbed inside the carpeted, mirrored cubicle and pressed the lobby button with a nude, sparkly manicured finger.

Everything about her radiated _wealth_ and she loved it.

Maybe, back when things were different and she had been raised by her "half-a-mother", workaholic waitress of a mother, she had struggled for everything that she possessed. But, then she had been adopted by her step-father and everything had fallen into place for her. She had quickly become daddy's spoiled little princess.

All she had to do were follow a few rules, whenever he bothered to be around.

Rolling her sparkling eyes towards her pale eyebrows, she slid on her designer sunglasses and prepared herself to meet up with her followers. She wasn't the type to have friends-the closest she came to having an actual friend was Missy Bradford, who she was sure was jealous of everything the blonde had. But, she had plenty of worshippers and it was better to be feared than loved, right?

As she heard the elevator settle onto the floor she repeated her daily mantra, preparing herself to face the outside world.

"You're Maya Hart and you're _perfect."_

* * *

 _Doesn't anyone here live an original life?  
What did you surrender to be on the inside?  
When you disappear they won't remember your name._

The tall boy tugged at the tee shirt he was wearing, rolling his eyes as he settled further down into his seat as he watched the blonde waltz by, head held high and nose in the air.

They lived in the same building and she couldn't even bother to give him the time of day. She acted oblivious to him, even though she lived on the floor above him, in the slightly larger pent-house apartment.

He couldn't really figure out why she lived in such a large suite when she seemed to live by herself, but he knew that the place was barely empty. It was a good thing her father owned the hotel that they stayed at, because he was sure that she would have been kicked out long ago for the wild and crazy parties she threw every Friday night after the football game.

Everybody thought that Maya Hart was absolutely perfect. The epitome of the "It" girl. She walked around the halls like she was Blair Waldorf in Serena van der Wooden's body.

It wasn't even like she attended some sort of elite, private school. She went to a charter school, so it was an amazing school-he wouldn't be her classmate if it wasn't-but it was a public school all the same.

The boy genius shook his head, allowing the shaggy mess of dark brown hair to fall into his cold, icy, grey-blue eyes. His round, slightly boyish features sometimes made it hard for others to believe that he was about to be seventeen years old, but the six foot tall, solid yet skinny male knew that he was attractive, all the same.

It wasn't his looks which kept him home on Friday and Saturday nights, however.

Instead, it was the fact that he was a nerd.

He was brilliant. He knew absolutely everything and anything. His father was a multi-millionaire for the technological company he had started fresh out of college. Farkle was even smarter than his father was.

At thirteen, the private school connected to their public school had begged Farkle to attend. Einstein Academy had done all that they could to try to get the boy to transfer, but he had wanted to stay with his friends. He had wanted the chance for some sort of normality in his schooling, explaining why he had also refused every offer to skip a grade.

If he had known back then, however, that his group would disintegrate as soon high school began? He probably would have taken them up on that offer. He would most likely be done with high school by sixteen and attending some prestigious, ivy league school with plans to earn some degree that would get him the best type of job he could think of.

Instead, he was stuck at Abigail Adams High School where he had to watch his former best friends walk through the hallways as if they didn't know one another. As if they hadn't spent every weekend at one another's houses. As if they hadn't hopped on a train together and taken a weekend trip to Texas. As if they hadn't come up with a million schemes that got them into trouble everywhere they went.

His cell phone buzzed in his pocket, informing him that his driver was waiting to bring him to school. He always sat down to wait in the lobby, despite the fact that his driver showed up at the exact same time every day, so that he could watch the blonde make her way through the lobby, texting away on her cell phone.

She never even looked his way, but the boy continued to hold onto the hope that one day she would see him and give him the slightest sense of recognition, so that he would feel as though he wasn't a complete nothing.

All he wanted was for her to give him a sign that she remembered him. She didn't have to miss him and she didn't have to go and talk to him. She didn't have to try to save their friendship. He just wanted her to make it known to him that he was recognized by her, so that he would be able to feel good about himself.

The school's invisible girl couldn't be bothered to speak to him, choosing instead to hide in the corners. The school's bad boy and star athlete wouldn't dare to risk his own reputation by speaking to the school's punching bag.

But Maya was different-people feared her and they worshiped her.

She was nicer than the other popular kids a large majority of the time. She could get away with flashing him a smile to let him know that Farkle Minkus wasn't completely forgettable.

* * *

 _Take a look at the invisible girl  
Here she is, clear as the day  
Please look closely and find her before she fades away  
_

The invisible girl made her way through the subway, enjoying every second of her mint green and black, high heeled, feminine combat boots slamming against the concrete pavement.

Her black, skater-styled, overall-skirt set swayed against her upper thighs with every movement that she made, while her mint green, form-fitting tank top with the high neck hugged her flat stomach, tiny waist and almost completely flat chest, providing the illusion that she had some sort of boobs.

Beneath her skirt were here long, bare, pale legs that seemed to go on forever, especially with the impossibly high heels she was wearing.

Sometimes it struck her as weird-the fact that she seemed to be invisible at school, even though she was five foot ten. She was one of the tallest girls in the grade, yet nobody looked at her twice.

With her defined features, all consisting of sharp angles, she knew that she was a pretty girl as well. She had long and thick, blood red lips with intense, almond shaped eyes. Her nose was long and just a bit too narrow.

She reached inside her black, finger, over the shoulder purse and pulled out a silvery-pink wallet with black font across the front, grabbing her subway card before slamming the wallet back into her purse and shoving it away from her, wincing as it hit her black, fringe-decorated back pack.

Clutching her constantly silent, mint green with panda accents phone case and the newly obtained subway card in her hand, she used her free hand to shove her thick, black, plastic sunglasses up into her hair, pushing it away from her face.

A clutter of teal and black, rubber bracelets all relating back to some TV show, band, or movie franchise slid down her arm with the movement and her hair brushed against her black, moon and stars earrings.

The girl was probably invisible because most of the time, she wore dark colors. Pale pastels were the only accents of color that she ever added. Nobody noticed somebody who blent into the surroundings when there were bright, cheerful, and colorful girls all around her. Those were the eye-catching girls.

Not the school's yearbook photographer and newspaper's gossip columnist.

She was just a piece of scenery and she was never noticed.

Nobody spoke to her. Nobody insulted her and nobody complimented her. Nobody purposefully left her out of social outings, but nobody invited her either. Nobody defended her and nobody asked about her.

It was as though the girl who had been the center of attention for everybody in the classes back in middle school had disappeared.

Sometimes she wondered what people thought had happened to the cheerful and colorful girl with the loud personality who had to be in everybody's business. She wondered if they thought about her and she wondered if they knew that she was there, but just stopped caring when they realized that there were more important things to worry about.

Finding a seat in the subway compartment she had entered, she removed her sunglasses from the top of her head and shook out of long, glossy, raven black hair that fell in a pin straight, ultra thick mane to her waist. She reached up, fluffing her blunt, across the forehead bangs so that they were perfectly disgruntled once again, despite the mess that her sunglasses had caused.

Then, she turned herself away from the hustle and bustle of the subway car around her, trying to catch a glimpse of herself in the window of the train without appearing vain to those around her.

Her milk chocolate colored eyes with golden hues were lined with thick, heavy black eyeliner and a smoky eyeshadow job darkened them so that they lost all of their sparkle. Her lips were lined in a darker red than their natural shade and filled in with a matching shade of red. The rest of her face was true to its usual pale form.

While studying her reflection, she noticed _him._

The only reason that she wished she weren't invisible. The only boy who made the fact that she was invisible feel so _awful._

The school's bad boy had been running through her thoughts since middle school and she had had a chance with him, years ago, but now he didn't even look at her twice. He wasn't even one of the people who looked _through_ her. He just didn't _see_ her.

Riley Matthews just had to face the fact-she had stopped being important a _long_ time ago.

* * *

 _'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby  
Listen to Iron Maiden, maybe with me?  
Oh yeah, dirtbag-no, she doesn't know what she's missing _

He was the guy that every girl at school wanted.

He was the star of the football team.

He was the star of the baseball team.

He was the star of the basketball team.

He was just a _star._

He had a reputation that preceded him.

He was the student that teachers were terrified of having in their class.

He was the first one blamed for every prank.

He was the one to determine if something was cool or not.

He was the guy every other guy wanted to be and that every girl wanted to be with.

So, if he was all of those amazing things and he was such a crucial part to the top of the social pyramid at Abigail Adams High School, why was he ignored by the one girl he wanted?

Other girls meant nothing to him. All of the conquests that he had had throughout the years meant absolutely nothing to him.

They didn't excite him and they didn't make his heart stop. They didn't take his breathe away and they didn't make him stop dead in his tracks.

Instead, the girl who did that belonged to his teammate. He had to watch as she albeit ignored him, except for when she was being her usual perfectly polite self.

He couldn't have her. He couldn't touch her and he couldn't stare at her openly for too long. He could barely even talk to her.

Of course, that was probably a good thing since on the rare occasions when he did talk to her, he made an ass out of himself. A bigger ass out of himself than she already thought he was, that was. And she thought he was a pretty big one.

It wasn't hard to know her opinion about him, because she didn't hide was constantly ordering her friends to stay away from him, warning them that he would cause them nothing but trouble.

And he couldn't even hate the boy she was currently dating, because he thought that she walked on water.

Joshua Matthews, for all intents and purposes, thought that Maya Hart had hung the moon and stars. That the sun rose just to see her face every morning. That she was the reason that his world kept turning.

How could he compete with that? He was nothing more than a rebel without a cause form a broken home.

He had a dad who sent him money-tons of money-to try to buy his love and makeup for the fact that he was never around. He had a mother who cried constantly, over the fact that she had a failed marriage and a son who she had thought she had raised properly. He hated to hear his mom cry and he hated knowing it was partially because of him, but he couldn't change what he had become.

When his group of friends had fallen apart when high school had began, he had lost a large part of himself.

He had lost the better part of himself and he was the first one to admit that.

Now, he had no idea how he was supposed to get it back.

It was his punishment, he supposed, to have to watch Maya happily enjoy her relationship with Josh and walk around like the perfect little It-couple that they were.

They fulfilled the high school stereotype, at least. Josh was the quarterback and Maya was the co-captain of the cheerleading team. Josh was the golden boy, taking the bad boy's former place as Mr. Perfect right out from under him and Maya was the good girl-the virgin queen and the richest kid in school.

Besides, he didn't deserve a girl like her.

He ruined everything that he touched.

So, he enjoyed the fist fights he got into when guys talked too much shit to him at a football game. He enjoyed the way he'd push the smaller students around-and he especially enjoyed when he pushed the larger students around. He enjoyed his dates with a different girl every week.

He gave them just enough-but never his whole self.

He would make out with them. He would touch them and excite them. He would allow them to pleasure him.

But, they never did anything that could be seen as _passionate._

Maybe it was strange that the school bad boy was still a virgin, but he was saving that. Saving it for someone special.

Even though he knew that the day would never come when Maya Hart came to him, begging for him to take away her virtue-for him to thrill her to the very core of her being-he held onto a shiver of hope that one day, she would do just that. And that he would be able to tell her that he had been waiting for her his entire life, because it was her-it would always be her and it had always been her.

From the first time he had ever seen Maya, he knew that she was something special.

He knew that she was going to change his life, and she had.

The problem was, she had changed it by giving him two choices to make.

He could be the person that they had all known back in middle school, or he could give in to his dark side and become the person he currently was.

If he had made a different choice, maybe Maya would be his. Maybe the two of them would be walking down the hallway like the perfect blonde pair that they were. They would be the it-couple and they would be the ones that everybody was envious of.

They would win prom king and prom queen. They'd be on Homecoming Court together. They would be accepted to the same college and then get married, living in a shoe-box apartment as they struggled to start their lives.

They would bicker and tease one another relentlessly, the way they always had, but they would never get into an actual fight and they would never leave one another. They would tough it out until the very end.

That wasn't his reality, however and he was going to have to face that face.

This was why Lucas Friar hated when his truck was in the shop and he had to take the subway. It reminded him of back when he had first met Maya, and it made him think about all of the pain he was currently suffering through because of his unrequited feelings for her.

* * *

 _Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated?  
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else  
Gets me frustrated. _

They had all changed.

They weren't the same group of middle schoolers who couldn't be separated anymore.

The cheerful, happy students from John Quincy Adams Middle School no longer existed. Different students attended Abigail Adams High School.

Lucas "The Good", the moral compass that was Mr. Perfect, had turned into the school's bad boy, basking in the terrible reputation he had earned himself.

Artistically sarcastic Maya Hart, the queen of sass, had given up on her passions and settled for the image of "perfection" as she showed off her money, using the popularity to gain a different type of respect than the respect she had earned in middle school.

Unique and quirky Riley Matthews was no longer the center of attention. The ray of sunshine who had founded Rileytown hadn't been to that place in a _long_ time, choosing instead to hide from the rest of the world.

Brilliant and confident Farkle Minkus, the boy whom everybody had thought to be a robot, who prided himself on the amazing friends that he had surrounded himself with back in middle school, had buried himself in his school work and albeit lived in the library. He was destined to be valedictorian and that was his only concern.

They were different people and they acted as though their middle school selves had never existed. They forgot about the friendship that they had had for years and focused instead on the images that they created for themselves. When they would see one another at school, they acted as if the other one didn't exist.

Of course, their lives forced them to cross paths every now and then. Maya was, after all, dating Riley's twin brother. Whenever she was over at Riley's house to hang out with Josh, however, she was vague and formally polite with the brunette girl. And after what had happened between the two of them in their final blow out, even Riley's parents couldn't bring themselves to comment on the blonde's indifference.

Lucas needed a tutor in order to keep his grades high enough to stay on all of his sports teams, and his tutor was none other than Farkle. They met up once a week to work on Lucas's homework and make sure he was on track when it came to studying for his tests. All of those meetings were treated as formally as a business endeavor. They only spoke about the material at hand and neither one dared to bring up old memories.

Maya was constantly forced to spend time with Lucas, because she was a cheerleader and he was a football player. Her boyfriend was on the same team as the bad boy. They went to the same parties and they hung out with the same circle. But, Lucas treated her as though she wasn't even there and Maya just rolled her eyes at everything she said, complaining about how vulgar he was, making everything inappropriate.

Farkle and Riley came across one another every now and then, because of Farkle's place on yearbook committee-an effort to add some nonacademic extra-curricular activities to his transcript for college. When he was at a meeting, they made sure to work on completely different sections of the yearbook so they didn't have to interact.

It was sad, the way that friendships could be ruined all because of one week, but it had happened. The group that had always seemed inseparable had been torn apart at the seems and it didn't look like there was a way to fix that.

But, sometimes something magic happens just because fate has conflicting plans than reality. That's when things start to get interesting.

And things at Abigail Adams High School had been boring for far too long.

Something had to happen to spice things up a little bit.

So, take a school's bad boy who had a crush on little miss perfect, who was in love with her equally as perfect boyfriend, who was the twin sister of the invisible girl, who happened to be in love with the bad boy, despite the fact that the school's biggest nerd was head over heels in love with him the girl that nobody else seemed to notice even existed.

It was a confusing web to weave, but that was what made everything so interesting.


	2. My Songs Know What You Did In the Dark

**I Don't Wanna Be Anything Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World Fan Fiction  
Chapter 1: My Songs Know What you Did In the Dark **

_**A/N: What are you guys thinking of this so far? I started off this chapter sort of without a solid plan and now I've got so many ideas that I'm not sure which one I should go with.**_

* * *

 _B-b-b-be careful making wishes in the dark, dark  
Can't be sure when they've hit their mark  
And besides in the mean time I'm just dreaming _

Maya Hart led the pack as she waltzed into Abigail Adams High School- _her_ high school. The place where she was on top and led the pack.

Missy Bradford was to her right, dressed in a short, black plaid mini skirt with white, grey and electric blue accents and buckles on the waist. She wore a sleeveless mock neck crop top in a bright shade of blue while her dark brown and caramel highlighted hair was pulled back with a blue bow. A pair of black knee socks finished off her innocent, school girl appearance.

And then one saw her high heeled black ankle boots and the black leather jacket swung over her shoulder, covering the white leather designer back pack she was carrying, made by the same designer as her blue purse with matching wallet. Despite having entered the school, she was still wearing an oversized pair of blue sunglasses. A pair of gold hoop earrings dangled with every step and her arm full of bangles clattered, informing every student that she had been whoring herself around, enjoying every male she could find.

If Missy wasn't such a slut, Maya would live in constant fear of her "best friend" trying to take away her spot at the top of the food chain. Instead, however, she enjoyed the fact that her good girl status as the virgin queen helped her to clutch onto her placement with all of her strength.

After all, Missy was just a brunette Maya.

She had hit her maximum height back in seventh grade. While she had been a tall middle schooler, standing at five foot four and rising at the same height as most of the boys in the grade, she had stopped growing after and was now just below the average height of the girls in their grade.

She was still perfectly skinny with curves that never failed to gain attention and her face was undeniably beautiful. The only thing she was lacking was the impossibly long, seemingly endless legs that Maya broadcasted.

On Maya's left was Darby Walker, the tall and leggy blonde. She was beautiful and sweet, hilariously funny yet slightly dim witted. While she excelled in her classes, she lacked common sense.

Her long, wavy blonde hair fell in a thick mess of beach-styled, wind-blown waves just past her shoulders is a mess of layers. Her round face with round, warm features always houses a smile and her mediterranean blue eyes sparkled at all times.

True to the rest of Maya's group, the beautiful girl was dressed in a floral print skater skirt in a mess of bright colors. A hot pink, form fitting crop top finished off the outfit and a pair of flat, matching pink sandals ensured that she wasn't any taller than her five foot eight height already made her. A hot pink wristlet dangled from her wrist and matching pink and silver flower-studded jewelry sparkled beneath the fluorescent lights of the school. Her Victoria's secret, black and pink backpack was swung over one shoulder as she followed in Maya's wake.

As the trio made their way down the halls, the crowds parted for them. They didn't have to push people out of their way, because everybody immediately moved away for them. Nobody wanted to get in the way of Maya Hart, because nobody wanted to deal with the aftermath of messing with the perfect blonde.

Whenever people did anything to upset the beautiful girl, the culprit immediately had to deal with two individuals who would threaten their life for daring to threaten the beautiful smile that boy boys always fought to keep on Maya's face at all times.

Joshua Matthews would publicly humiliate anybody who dared to mess with Maya. Her boyfriend never failed to hide how far he was willing to go to keep Maya happy, which was why the majority of their relationship was public knowledge.

Normally, Maya would hate the constant PDA that their relationship consisted of, but a part of her sort of loved being shown off and bragged about constantly. It made her feel important, loved, and cherished. She felt worthy of attachment and attraction. That was the part of her relationship with Josh that she loved the most. Rather than constantly being rejected for the better offer, she was the first pick.

The other person who people would have to answer to when Maya was disrespected was Lucas Friar. Nobody ever saw it happen and most people refused to believe it until it happened to them, but rumors flew through the school that warned everybody that messing with Maya Hart would result in a death threat from Lucas Friar.

"So," Missy said, purposefully speaking just a tad louder the necessary as the three cheerleaders passed by a group of less popular students-students that Maya didn't even know the names of, which made her want to lower her head in shame.

"So _what?"_ Maya wondered, removing her sunglasses from her denim blue eyes and dropping them into her purse.

"So, what party are we hitting up tonight to celebrate the first day of school?" Missy asked, raising her eyebrows towards her hair line as though the question should have been obvious to the blonde haired leader.

"That's a stupid question," Maya yawned, turning a corner and smirking.

Once again, the trio had gotten their lockers in the best location in the school. It was on the second floor, at the end of the hallway and far enough away from any classrooms that teachers wouldn't be able to hover and watch over them constantly. There were two walls full of ten lockers each, and on the third wall was a series of windows. The best part was the way the area seemed to jut out and turn just sightly to the left, so that it had a private and separate feeling to it.

"Why?" Missy asked indignantly.

"Because _I'm_ hosting the _best_ back to school bash _ever,"_ Maya boasted.

* * *

 _I'm a young lover's rage  
Gonna need a spark to ignite  
My songs know what you did in the dark_

Farkle was sick and tired of Missy Bradford constantly trying to make him and his friends feel like they were nothing, just because they were cheerleaders or athletes.

It wasn't _right_ and it wasn't _fair._

Not that Farkle's one and only friend seemed to mind.

Isadora Smackle was completely content with her place at the bottom of the social pyramid. She accepted that fact, as long as she had Farkle by her side and maintained her 4.0 GPA at all times.

She didn't even seem to notice that if she would just ditch Farkle and branch out a little bit, she could be one of the most popular girls in school.

With her long, waist-length, pin-straight, glossy, jet black hair and soft yet intense, perfectly defined features making up her symmetrical face, she was a classical beauty. Her hazel eyes were mysteriously narrow, always making the rest of the world wonder what they were missing out on when it came to her. She had thick, pale pink lips that Farkle loved kissing and thinking about kissing. Her skin was like porcelain and she was just the right height with just the right curves.

Even the way she dressed would be accepted into the popular crowed.

Simple and mature, she had on a geek-chic type of look that never failed to leave Farkle in complete awe, especially since he knew as well as anybody else that she simply didn't care about what she looked like.

That day, for example-the first day of school, when most people would dress up and strive to be the best version of themselves possible-she was dressed in a pair of form fitting, ultra skinny, dark denim skinny jeans that hugged every curve that Farkle tried his hardest not to notice. She had paired the jeans with an orange, off the shoulder flow-blouse. A white and orange chevron turban headband held her hair from her face, so it wouldn't get in the way of any of her science experiments and she was wearing closed toe shoes so she wouldn't have to waste time changing. The brown suede backpack with the fringe that she'd had since freshman year was still in perfect condition and she was currently filling it up with the books she'd need for her first few classes that day.

If it weren't for the large, black, oversized glasses she had on, she could easily blend in with Maya, Missy and Darby who had just paraded by. She could have joined their triangle, making it a diamond, and nobody would have noticed or cared, because she was a pretty girl.

But, Farkle knew that she was far from being a normal teenage girl.

While he showered her with expensive and lavish gifts on her birthday every year and for Christmas, he knew that he could never buy her bracelets. She would never wear them because it would take away from her lab time if she had to remove them and then replace them every class. So, he settled for necklaces, like the infinity sign she was currently wearing that had their names engraved in it. Sometimes he bought her earrings, like the shiny, diamond studded balls she had in her ears that day. But, usually it was a necklace.

"I hate when they do that," Farkle rolled his eyes, slamming his locker shut and turning around to face the bustle of the hallway.

His locker was positioned just outside of the secluded area where Maya's locker was. Technically, his locker should have been directly across from hers, but Lucas Friar had been waiting there when Farkle had arrived and demanded that the smaller boy switch lockers with him, no questions asked.

Since Lucas's was positioned next to Lucas's, Farkle didn't need anymore persuasion. He agreed to give up his locker, despite its location in the "cool kid's hallway" and settled for watching their interactions from afar, the way he had for years.

"When who does what?" Isadora frowned, studying her locker intently as though she were forgetting something inside of it.

"When Missy and Maya and all of their friends brag about their plans and how many offers they have each night in front of us, as if we'd be jealous and offended," Farkle replied bitterly, pulling the strap of his backpack higher on his arm in protest.

"Maya didn't even say anything, Farkle, and Missy was just asking a question," Isadora responded, shooting Farkle a pointed look.

Yeah, but-"

"And the fact that it bothers you means that even if they were doing it to make you jealous…well, it's working, isn't it?" Isadora pointed out, slamming her locker shut.

"I'm not _jealous,"_ Farkle defended himself. "I'm just annoyed that I live in the same building as Maya-one floor below her, to be exact-and she can't even be bothered to walk downstairs and invite me to her parties, even though we all know that she knows where I live," Farkle complained.

"Does this have something to do with the fact that you used to have some sort of weird crush on Maya and Riley back in middle school? Are you still mad about the fact that you guys aren't friends anymore?" Isadora sighed.

"It was just a stupid middle school crush," Farkle shrugged. "It wasn't anything serious. And I could care less about my friendship with them. I've got you, now and you're the best friend that a guy could ask for. Who needs some air-head cheerleader, a guy who's always in the principal's office and some freak who fell off the face of the earth?" Farkle asked, shooting Smackle a reassuring smile.

He knew that she had a crush on him. It was why Maya and Riley were such a sore subject for her to talk about, even though she shouldn't.

After all, he had a crush on her, too.

He was just too chicken to do anything about it, so they were just friends.

* * *

 _Somewhere another pretty vein just dies  
I've got scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see  
That your the antidote to everything except for me_

Lucas hated Joshua Matthews.

He knew it was wrong, because Josh was the quarterback, the star of the football team-the team's _co-captain._ Sure, Lucas was a captain as well, but he needed to be able to get along with Josh for the team to do well.

And since Lucas was the star running back, it was pretty important that Josh and him got along, because they had to work together.

But, he hated the dark haired boy with a harsh passion and would do anything to ruin Mr. Perfect's reputation. He was on a constant lookout to find something that could be used to tear the boy down and ruin his place at the top.

Not because Lucas wanted Josh's status for himself.

He could care less about being the future prom king and he really didn't want to be on Homecoming court. He didn't want to have to make attempts to attend every party every Friday and Saturday night. He didn't want to kiss ass to everybody and act like he was everybody's friend. He didn't want to be the go-to guy that every teacher thought of for a new student or some volunteer work.

All that he wanted was Josh's girlfriend.

Maya Hart, the blonde beauty that she was, was lusted after by every single male at Abigail Adams high school.

Lucas didn't want her because of her looks, though and he hated to think of his feelings as something as awful as 'lust'.

No, no, no-Lucas in _love_ with Maya Hart and he had been ever since he had spotted her on the subway back in the seventh grade when he had moved to New York City from a small town just outside of Austin, Texas.

She was confident and smart. She was funny and loyal. She was compassionate and artistic. She was talented and mature. She was intense and dedicated. She was experienced and dedicated. She was sad and angry. She had been through so much, but she hadn't allowed it to make her jaded.

Instead, she used it to better herself and the people around her.

What Lucas couldn't get over was how much she had been willing to sacrifice for her best friend back in middle school.

Back in seventh and eighth grade, Maya had been a rebel. Rules were merely suggestions to her and school was an obstacle. She was the class loud-mouth and she was sarcastic more than she was sincere. She loved to tease people and she always had an insult ready at a moment's notice.

All of that was because Riley was the happiest girl on the planet. She was full of sunshine and rainbows. She saw the world in a warped sense, believing that everyone and everything were full of goodness, despite any evidence to the contrary.

Taking in Riley's darkness, the way Maya had done for so long, had allowed Riley to maintain that constant state of annoying happiness. The state of ignorant bliss she had lived in for her entire adolescence was sort of adorable…until it just got strange, as it had when she started high school and refused to believe in the world as it really was.

Once Maya had stopped taking in all of Riley's happiness, trying to forth her to see the world the way it really was, everything changed for them both.

Riley, who had been protected from the harsh reality of the world, lost it. She was unable to cope with the idea that not everything was going to work out in her benefit in the end. That sometimes, bad things happened, even to good people.

She allowed herself to be overcome by the darkness, despite the fact that her life remained the same. All that had happened was that the Riley committee had been dismantled.

But, she had been ruined by the protection her friends had given her for so long. There was no going back from that.

Maya, however, saw the light.

Rather than focusing on every negative aspect in her life, she sought out the good things and cherished them, broadcasting them for the world to see.

She became "little miss perfect", something Lucas found incredibly ironic, because of all the teams she had mocked him in their childhood for being "Mr. Perfect" or "the Moral Compass" or "Lucas the Good".

But, she was the school's good girl now and Lucas was the school's bad boy.

There were total opposites, and maybe they would be able to work out in some cliche high school movie full of stereotypes, but they lived in the real world and things didn't work out that perfectly in reality.

"Dude, just _talk_ to her," Isaiah Babineaux said, tearing Lucas out of his thoughts as he watched the blonde disappear down the hallway, heading towards her homeroom class with her little minions in tow.

"Don't _do_ that," Lucas snapped, jumping at the sudden voice behind him.

He slammed his locker shut, whirling around and glaring at his best friend.

It wasn't because Zay had snuck up on him. It wasn't because he had startled him. Lucas was angry with him because of what he had said, at a perfectly audible volume with Maya within earshot-especially when the blonde had super sonic hearing.

"She picked you over Josh before," Zay reminded him. "She was going to pick you over Riley, but you didn't know what you wanted back then. Can you blame her moving on and settled for the guy that picked her?"

"Don't remind me about how stupid I was back then," Lucas shook his head, fighting the urge to look at the blonde over his shoulder.

He spent too much time staring at her and he was going to get himself caught eventually. He knew that soon enough, he would have to tell her about his feelings. He wasn't stupid and he didn't think it could stay a secret forever. But, once she knew, everything would change. So, he was going to try to keep things exactly how they were for just a little bit longer.

He would do all that it took to keep his dirty little secret, so that she had no idea what was really happening.

"She's having a party at her house tonight, for the start of the school year. You game?" Lucas asked, pulling his backpack higher up onto his shoulder.

"I'm always down for a party," Zay grinned.

They were a strange friendship, since Zay had remained the smart-ass class clown through the years. Despite Lucas's transformation into the school's bad boy, Zay was the lovably dorky boy-next-door.

And, while Maya couldn't stand Lucas and was constantly ranting about how much of an ass he was to everybody, Zay was Maya's best friend.

Zay was the only one who had managed to hold onto any of his middle school friendships. While he hadn't spoken to Farkle or Riley on a regular basis for years, he was still best friends with Maya and Lucas. He had more ties to the former group than any of the rest of them, and sometimes Lucas envied him for that.

Then he remembered the bitterness in Farkle's eyes every single time Lucas walked by him with a different girl on his arm. The hurt in Riley's eyes when Lucas flirted with a girl who wasn't the brunette. The disgust on Maya's face as Lucas approached her.

He was perfectly content with the way he was, and while it was different than the person he had been back when the four of them had met, he didn't think that it was necessarily a bad thing. The fact that his former friends just seemed so frustrated with the changes he had made with himself showed that eventually they would have drifted apart. They couldn't accept him as the guy he was, so why should he waste time missing them?

Besides, he wasn't happy with who they were either.

He was annoyed with the fact that Riley had turned herself into an invisible stalker, wondering the halls with her camera and on the prowl for her next headline.

Farkle's arrogance about his intelligence never failed to make him angry. Everybody knew that the boy was smart-so smart that many people thought he was a robot. But, they didn't need it constantly rubbed in their face the way that Farkle enjoyed to do.

Maya was the only one who didn't annoy him.

He couldn't be annoyed with her, because he loved her.

To him, the blonde was perfect.

Her only flaw?

She had sacrificed the fire that had always been so dominate in her beautiful blue eyes so that she could be with Joshua Matthews, who prided himself in his perfection-his perfect family, his perfect plan and his perfect relationship.

Maya was so desperate to have somebody to love her that she had settled and given up a large piece of herself in the process.

* * *

 _Burn everything you love, then burn the ashes  
In the end everything collides  
My childhood spat back out the monster that you see_

What was so special about Maya Hart?

Riley didn't understand the appeal.

The two might have been best friends years ago, but not anymore.

Maya had left her. She had walked out of her life when things had gotten too complicated. She had forgotten about their vow to one another and she had taken everything that Riley had ever wanted in life for herself.

It just wasn't _fair_ that Maya Hart got everything, because the blonde just didn't deserve it. It wasn't right that the girl who had come from _nothing_ got everything that she wanted, while Riley was forced to live on the outskirts of the social circle.

She felt unloved and unwanted. She felt like a nothing. And a part of her felt bad for being so bitter about what Maya had gotten in life, because she knew that what she was currently going through was what Maya had gone through in middle school.

But, there was a big difference between the two girls's experiences. After all, Maya hadn't been forced to be on her own as her world crumbled around her. Her world fell to pieces and Riley was there to put them all back together again so that Maya could remain whole. So that Maya could be _happy._

The blonde hadn't had the same courtesy for Riley. When things had started to go south for the brunette, she had been rejected and ignored. She was pushed aside as though she just wasn't useful anymore. Once Maya proved that she could do perfectly fine without Riley, she left her in her wake and forced her to watch in her rise to the top.

For years, Riley had dreamt of being a cheerleader. Maya took that from her. She took Lucas from her and she had even taken Riley's twin brother, who should have stayed as her best friend. She had taken a spot as the most popular girl in school and she took the position of being the school's good girl.

What was left for Riley? Even if she had remained friends with Maya-even if the blonde hadn't pushed her out of her life-there wouldn't have been anything left for her.

She would have gotten lost in the shuffle. She would have lost a large piece of herself as she attempted to fit in with Maya's new world.

Nothing about her would be the same. She wouldn't have found her passions in life and she wouldn't have any chance for happiness.

As angry as she was with Maya for all that the blonde had done to her, she knew that she had a lot to thank the blonde for as well. Maya had promised that they wouldn't be like the friends who drifted apart in high school, but she had lied. That had been exactly what had happened to the lot of them and it had happened quickly. It had happened within the first week of the school year.

Maybe Maya had realized that she had been wrong. Maybe she had meant what she had promised, but quickly realized that she was wrong. And everybody knew what Maya got like when she was wrong. Knowing that she was going to lose Riley eventually was all the motivation Maya would need to push all of her former friends away, so that-for once in her life-she wasn't the one who was left.

For the first time in her entire life, Maya was the one to do the leaving. Nobody left her and she didn't have to deal with any feelings of worthlessness. She didn't feel rejected or unloved. Instead, she forced her friends to deal with those feelings. She made Riley wonder what was wrong with her that nobody seemed to want to know her anymore. She made Farkle feel like he was forgettable and she made Lucas feel inferior.

Lucas, who was so perfect in every way.

Lucas, the boy who Riley would do anything for in her life.

Lucas, who was in love with Maya and didn't even spare Riley a second glance, despite the fact that she was his first kiss and he had been her first kiss.

Lucas, who was crazy about Maya and would do absolutely anything to have her in his life-to be able to show her off to the world.

No, Maya had chosen Joshua Matthews as her boyfriend and after that, Lucas had never been the same. He had become a player and a jerk. He treated girls like possessions and he treated every male around him as though they were nothing in comparison to him. And he acted as though he didn't deserve to be loved or to be cherished. He turned himself into an empty shell of what he used to be.

And Riley hated that. She wanted the boy that she had kissed on the subway back. She wanted her prince charming. The one who had ridden a sheep and helped a horse give birth. The boy who had told her that he wanted to be a veterinarian when he grew up. The boy who rode a bull just because he wanted to make his grandfather proud and the boy who had found a white horse for him and Riley to ride on together.

That boy, unfortunately, was long gone. He had been gone for years and Riley knew that a part of it was her fault. If she hadn't told him that he would get killed on the football team, Lucas would have stayed in the hole with them and gotten over his anger at not being able to protect them anymore.

But, Riley had destroyed his ego and helped to break his spirit. She had played just as big a part in his self-destruction as Maya had played, and she knew that it was unfair to blame the blonde for what had happened, but it was so much easier for her to blame the blonde and put all of the blame on her former best friend.

After all, Maya wasn't the one forced to sit there and watch the boy that she loved pine over some other girl. She didn't have to deal with the fact that she wasn't good enough to keep the attention of the boy she loved.

Maya just got to enjoy her life. Her popularity. Her boyfriend. Her money. Her pent-house suite. Her friends. Her social life. Her swarm of followers. Her place on the cheerleading team. Her fan club of male suitors.

"Still obsessing over Lucas?"

Riley whirled around, snapping a picture of Charlie Gardner, her best friend, before lowering her camera and glaring at the dark haired, pale skinned boy.

"I'm not _obsessed,"_ Riley told him, rolling her eyes.

"You're right," Charlie nodded his head. "Following him around with a camera is stalker-ish, not obsessive," He teased.

"I'm taking pictures for the yearbook!"

"Is this year's theme going to be Lucas Friar?"

"Shut up," Riley gasped, turning towards her locker.

"I'm not asking," Charlie went on, still teasing her. "I'm the yearbook editor in training. I should be aware of any and all details of the yearbook," He told her seriously.

"Shut up," Riley grumbled, stuffing the camera into her locker and slamming the door shut. "You're not as funny as you think you are," She reminded him.

"You know….he's in love with Maya and he has been for years," Charlie told her.

"She knows that," Sarah Carpenter said, walking up towards the two other brunettes and punching Charlie on the shoulder. "Don't remind her of a sore subject," She ordered.

"It's fine, Sarah. He's just trying to help," Riley sighed.

"It's not _fine,"_ Sarah rolled her eyes, pushing her large, black-framed glasses higher up onto the bridge of her nose, grumbling as the mascara extending her already thick and long eyelashes and brightening her blue-green eyes touched the lenses.

Sarah and Charlie had never really gotten along, constantly bickering with one another. Sarah, like her doppleganger Maya, was incredibly protective of Riley and did everything to keep her happy and safe at all times. Charlie, however, loved to tease her and drove her a little insane.

"He's being a jerk," Sarah explained, reaching up to pull her dark chocolate waves up into a high ponytail.

Sarah had a talent of being able to perfectly pull her hair back into a ponytail without any effort or a mirror. She never failed to ensure that all bumps were absent and that the ponytail wasn't missing a single strand of hair.

"It's really fine," Riley insisted.

"No," Sarah insisted.

"She said it was fine, Sarah," Charlie groaned.

"Don't make fun of her for liking Lucas," Sarah barked.

"Can we please talk about something else?"

"Fine," Sarah smirked. "Let's talk about how we're totally crashing Maya Hart's back-to-school party tonight," her eyes sparkled mischievously.

Sarah always knew everything going on at the school. Without fail, if there was a party, she knew where it was and when. She knew who would be there and what people were saying about it. She was always telling her friends about them, as though they would be attending. This was the first time she had tried to convince them to go, however.

"What?" Riley froze.

"You like Lucas? You want a chance with him? No time like the present. So, we're hitting up that party," Sarah declared.


	3. Untouchable

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 2: Untouchable **

_**A/N: Sorry it's been so long guys! I'll post the next chapter soon and then I'll switch back to updating I Write Sins. There will be a new one-shot up somewhere in the middle of this whole process. Keep reviewing and giving me your feedback, because I love it!**_

* * *

 _Untouchable, like a distant diamond sky  
I'm reaching out and I just can't tell you why  
I'm caught up in you, I'm caught up in you_

Maya Hart was sitting front row and center in her AP Lit class first period, elbow resting on her desk and chin placed in the palm of her perfectly manicured hand. She could feel the harsh glare of Farkle Minkus from the seat behind her and to the right, in the same seat he had always sat in during every class the pair had shared since they met one another.

She was used to him glaring at her, drilling holes into the back of her head. Still, it bothered her that her ex-best friend hated her so much just because she had blossomed and reached her full potential. It disturbed her and it affected her, but she knew that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted some sort of recognition from her and she was not going to let him know that she cared. She refused to give him that sort of satisfaction.

Besides, if she ignored it long enough, he would turn his hateful gaze towards Riley Matthews, who was sitting besides Maya, directly in front of the nerd. The expression would change, of course, into a lustful and longing stare that was almost pathetic to look at. But, at least it wasn't focused on Maya and filling her with anxiety.

Especially when she already had to deal with Lucas Friar staring at her, just because he knew it bothered her when people stared at her. Lucas, sitting behind Maya the way he always did when they shared a class together, had a bad habit of doing things just to drive Maya insane.

Maybe it was strange that the foursome still sat in the same seats they had positioned themselves in back in their seventh grade history class. Maya was sure that some people who were hardcore into psychology probably thought there was a deeper meaning behind their seating arrangement. But, the truth was, old habits died hard and the students were so used to sitting in that order that instinct had followed them all the way to the eleventh grade.

"Hey."

Maya jerked forward, chin falling off of her palm as she felt the pressure come from behind her, a harsh shove to her left shoulder. She swore under her breathe-or, as close to cursing as Maya ever came-before quickly recomposing herself and sliding her chair up farther, trying to get herself out of Lucas's reach.

Of course, the boy was well over six feet tall and he was more than capable of reaching over his desk and tapping her on the shoulder. Whether or not he required a pencil to poke her with or not, he would be able to do it, no matter how far away from him she tried to get.

"Maya!"

She could see Riley's head snap in her direction at a speed that threatened to break necks. She knew that Riley was still in love with Lucas and hated it when other girls got his attention. So, she was sure that Riley was glaring at Maya for getting attention from Lucas, especially since Maya was dating Riley's brother.

For all Maya cared, of course, Riley could have Lucas and all of his attention. She wished that he would leave her alone and only talk to her at social gatherings that required their cooperation.

She hated the person that he had become and while she couldn't blame him for changing when she had changed so much herself, she longed for the Huckleberry that had been her best friend to return to her. Lucas was the only one of her old friends who was still accepted in her circle, but with the way he was acting, it didn't make any sense for Maya to actually interact with him.

Still, at times, she longed for that one tie back to her old life.

If he was back to being the old, Ranger Rick that Maya had driven insane back in middle school, things would be different of course. The two of them would still have their friendship and Maya would have some connection to the girl that she had been so many years ago. The girl that, while she'd never admit it aloud, she missed at times.

But, she couldn't change the past.

There was no sense in thinking about what could have been, because it was impossible to change the decisions that had already been made.

"Short stack!"

She whirled around, the blonde curls whipping her in the face as she turned in her seat to face the arrogant mass of muscle sitting behind her with a cocky smirk on his face, strong arms crossed tightly over his broad chest.

"What?" She hissed, narrowing her blue eyes at him.

"Do you have the goods for your party tonight?"

"I live in a freaking _hotel,"_ she reminded him, appalled that he had interrupted her focus to ask her such a ridiculous question. "A five-star hotel with a full on bar in the living room," She stated, as though he hadn't been there multiple times for several parties.

"Yeah, but that has _shit,"_ Lucas rolled his eyes. "Do you want this to be the most epic party of all time?" He asked her, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course I do."

"Well, let me help you out, then," He offered, flashing her a grin that reminded her of the old Lucas.

"What do you have in mind?"

"I know the bar has Patron, Jameson, Baileys, Grey Goose, and a few other brands of vodka, all flavored for the most part..." he trailed off, lost in thought at the prospect of alcohol.

"Sundance!" She slapped her palm down on his desk, drawing him back to attention. "What are you gonna get me? I know what I _have,"_ she rolled her own eyes, something that she rarely ever did in her newfound role as the perfect girl.

"I'm grabbing some Fireball, because that's the only hard liquor you don't have. And then I'll grab some Mike's, Twisted Teas, a couple other wine coolers and a keg," he explained.

"How much am I gonna owe you?" She wondered, making a move to turn back around, ready to grab her wallet and hand him some cash.

"No," Lucas reached out, grabbing her arm and stopping her.

She paused, raising a sole eyebrow in the air as she looked up at him, confusion etched all over her face.

"Don't worry about paying me for it," He shook his head. "We'll think of some other way to call ourselves even," He assured her, flashing her that arrogant smirk that made so many girls swoon over him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Hart," he chuckled. "You know _exactly_ what that means," He snorted.

"I have a boyfriend, remember?"

"Oh yeah? Well, who said my payments got anything to do with anything that would interest Josh? I'll be over as soon as football practice's over with your stuff, okay?" he didn't even seem cocky anymore with that statement. Instead, he just seemed bitter.

"What's in it for you?"

"Easy," Lucas rolled his eyes, something that he had started doing an obscene amount of times a day since starting high school. "I get to be at a party with some decent booze, at a decent location, knowing that some decent looking girls are gonna be there," he shrugged.

"Lucas Friar needs to settle for decent?" Maya asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, when the hottest girl in school won't give me the time of day…" he trailed off, scanning Maya up and down with his eyes.

"You're such a jerk," Maya whirled back around, shooting him the deadliest look she could muster on her way, before putting her attention back towards the front of the class, acting as though the teacher's spiel about their syllabus was the most interesting thing in the entire world.

Really, though, she was just trying to hide her flushing cheeks and flattered smile from the rest of the class.

It was bad enough that a class full of students had seen her exchange with Lucas. She didn't need it getting back to Josh that the schools' bad boy had managed to get her flustered. She already had enough to deal with, trying to explain to her boyfriend why she had wasted any energy talking to Lucas in the first place.

As perfect as Josh was, he was the most jealous boy Maya had ever met, especially when it came to Lucas. And while Maya normally thought he was crazy for acting that way…maybe he wasn't so wrong?

* * *

 _I wanna feel you by my side  
Standing next to me  
You gotta come on, come on_

Riley Matthews stormed out of her first period class, pushing her way through the crowds of students until she found Charlie Gardner, waiting for her by the vending machines.

"How was your genius class?" He wondered, tossing her a Snickers bar with a smirk.

"Maya Hart, Lucas Friar, and Farkle Minkus are all in that class with me," She growled, tearing the wrapper from the chocolate.

"So….it went well?" Charlie asked, unable to contain his laughter.

"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Riley snapped, taking a large bite of her candy bar. "I had to watch Lucas flirt with Maya the entire time," she groaned.

"I thought Maya was dating your brother?"

"She is."

"But Lucas is his teammate…."

"Yeah, but do you think that really matters to Bad Boy Friar?"

"Okay, so are you jealous that he was flirting with Maya or angry because he was flirting with your brother's girlfriend?"

"Don't be stupid," Riley said, balling up the wrapper. "Of course I'm angry that he was flirting with Maya. You know how I feel about Lucas. I'm obviously jealous," she threw the empty wrapper at him, basking in the satisfaction that came from the wrapper bouncing off of his cheek.

"But you just called him a player," Charlie pointed out.

"Because I'm bitter that he's wasting his time on Maya! Just because she's some perfect little good girl that he wants to de-virginize," Riley rolled her eyes.

"You don't even know if that's his deal. He could really like her," Charlie pointed out.

"Yeah, right," Riley snorted. "Fuck boy Friar has feelings? For daddy's little angel Maya Hart? That's crazy and you know it," Riley replied.

"I just don't get the appeal. How do you like this guy when you know he's an asshole?" Charlie wondered.

"Have you _seen_ him?"

"Maybe this conversation is better for you and Sarah to be having," Charlie groaned.

"Listen, I don't even care. All that I care about is getting into that party tonight and making myself known. I'm sick and tired of being invisible, especially to him," Riley sighed, running a hand through her glossy locks.

"Riley, if Lucas doesn't see how amazing you are…. maybe he's just not worth it?" Charlie pointed out.

"I've had my sights set on Lucas since seventh grade, Charlie…I'm not giving up without a fight," Riley said, eyes narrowed in her determination.

She knew she was being unfair to Charlie. She knew that the dark haired boy had been in love with her since the eighth grade and had been working to win her over since their semi-formal. And he was so sweet, forgiving her for using him after the Texas-Scandal. Standing at the sidelines and watching as she threw herself at a boy who would always prefer her best friend.

He was so special, and she knew how easy it would be for her to be with him. She could be happy and he would make sure she was treated like a princess. It was the type of guy that he was, after all.

Charlie Gardner was the guy that Riley had always wanted Lucas to be. He was sweet, loving, compassionate and loyal. And he loved Riley. He loved Riley, and only Riley. Maya wasn't even on his radar, which meant that Riley didn't have to worry about any type of competition with the girl that she had always been jealous of.

But, she couldn't be with Charlie.

Maybe it was because it would be too easy to be with him. There was no challenge if she was with Charlie. It would be so simple that it would seem like she was settling for him.

Or, maybe it was because she had been working towards a relationship with Lucas for so long, it would feel like failure to be with anybody else. If she just gave up on ever being with Lucas, she would be admitting defeat.

And not only defeat in regards to getting the boy she'd been obsessed with since seventh grade, but defeat to Maya Hart. She would be admitting that she could never compete with the blonde haired beauty. And Riley had vowed long ago that she was never going to allow Maya Hart to beat her.

Sure, Maya had everything right now, but the real competition was Lucas.

Besides, why should Maya have Josh, a boy who fawned over her and did anything to keep her happy, as well as having Lucas silently watching from the sidelines, waiting for his chance while he protected her from everything? It wasn't fair, especially when Riley didn't have a boy to do that for her.

Charlie might treat her like a princess, if she would only give him the chance, but he was never going to be her knight in shining armor.

Lucas was always going to be the type of guy that rode in on a white horse and carried her off into the sunset.

Charlie was the boy who showered her with gifts and roses and planned out grand gestures for her. He didn't make her feel safe, the way that Lucas did. He just made her feel important, valued, and loved. And while those were all amazing things, Riley didn't want to be made out to be a princess to one guy.

No, it was long past that.

Riley wanted to be protected and she wanted to be shown off. She wanted to be on Lucas's arm, because that would mean that the entire school would know who she was. If she could tame the bad boy and make him fall in love with her, then she would have a reputation at that school. She would have a title. She would be _known._

It was so much more than just a crush on Lucas from childhood. It was more than a competition with Maya, even.

It had become a way to fulfill Riley's void. She had this emptiness inside from how invisible she felt and she was certain that being with Lucas would fix that for her. She would cease being a "nobody" and would become a "somebody".

"How's my favorite sister?"

Riley jumped at the presence of her brother, forcing his way through Riley and Charlie as they walked down the hallway.

"I'm your only sister," Riley rolled her eyes.

"Exactly! So, how was AP Lit? Anything interesting happen? Like…. Oh, I don't know… maybe, like, Lucas Friar hitting on my girlfriend?" Josh asked, flashing his sister a knowing look.

"News sure does travel fast around this school," Charlie said, his usual sarcastic cheerfulness flooding his tone.

"When it's about Maya Hart?" Riley snorted.

"What's your issue with Maya?"

"Listen," Riley ignored her brother's question. "You want me to spy on them in all of the classes I'm bound to have with them?" she wondered.

"That's how it usually works for us," Josh nodded.

"Well, I'm charging a fee this year," Riley smirked.

"What do you want?" Josh groaned.

"Access to Maya's party tonight."

" _You_ want to come to Maya's back-to-school party tonight?" Josh laughed, throwing his head back as the hysterics took over.

"Is that _funny_ to you? Because I can think of something that I'm sure Maya would find just as funny," Riley said, glaring at her twin to stop his laughter. "Like how you're asking your twin sister to spy on her?"

"Okay, okay," Josh rolled his eyes. "You want to come to the party? Come," He shrugged his shoulders.

"Really?" Riley asked, surprised it had been so easy.

"It's an open invitation, Riley," Josh stated, as though it were obvious. "All you have to do is walk through the doors. Besides, it's not like anybody would notice you and your friends showing up," He shrugged his shoulders one more time before talking away, leaving Riley to get lost in the crowd, just like she always way.

* * *

 _I know you're saying that you'll be here anyway  
But you're untouchable, burning brighter than the sun  
Now that you're close, I feel like coming undone_

"Hey, beautiful."

Maya smiled, unable to contain herself as she felt her boyfriend's arms wrap around her, placing a small kiss on her cheek as he appeared behind her in the cafeteria. She snuggled back into his embrace and turned her head just enough, meeting his lips for a quick peck on the lips, knowing that any further contact would be overkill on the PDA.

"Missy, move over," Josh instructed, placing his tray on the table and pushing the brunette's aside.

She shot Maya an annoyed look, as though demanding that the blonde queen do something to stop her boyfriend. But, Maya just shrugged, flashing her friend a helpless smile. Missy slid over, rolling her eyes as she moved into the empty chair on her other side, making room for Josh between the girls.

"Thanks, dolly," Josh flashed that gorgeous, undeniable grin at Missy and her frustration faded instantly.

Joshua Matthews just had that affect on girls.

He was drop dead gorgeous, which thick waves of dark, chocolate brown hair cut in the perfectly messy, windblown style. His skin always contained the perfect olive complexion. He stood at six foot one, with shoulders just broad enough and a solid torso. His arms were thick, with bulging muscles. His eyes were a deep shade of brown, with golden flecks inside and just the smallest bit of green in them. And his smile, despite his perfectly chiseled features on the rest of his face, was perfectly boyish.

Adorable dimples formed on both sides of his mouth, with perfectly straight and white teeth inside.

He was gorgeous and Maya knew it. She had longed for him since she had first become friends with Riley, and when she had finally gotten asked out by him in the middle of freshman year, she had jumped at the opportunity. Her relationship with Josh had been the first step towards her rise to popularity.

She couldn't even blame him for the effect that he had on girls, because how was he supposed to help the fact that he was blessed with amazing good looks. Sure, he had a charming and somewhat flirtatious personality, but that was one that was always turned on. He couldn't control it, and Maya couldn't fault him for being the way that he was. Not when it was one of the many things she loved about him.

"How was my girl in all of her genius classes?" Josh asked, a proud smile on his face as he wrapped his left arm around Maya's waist, pulling her in close to him.

"I only had AP Lit and AP Us History so far," Maya blushed, the way she always did when Josh bragged about her accomplishments and tried to make her out to be a big deal. "And then I had Studio Art 4 and my pre-calculus class," she reminded him.

"Your taking a senior level art class, Maya," Josh pointed out. "That's another one of your genius classes, so don't belittle yourself. And I'm not taking pre-calc. I'm taking trig with the rest of the average eleventh graders," he flashed her a goofy grin, as though trying to indicate that he was an idiot.

"So, school isn't your strong suit," Maya teased, bopping him on the noise with one finger. "You're the best football player this school has ever seen," she said proudly.

"Maybe the best quarterback," Josh bargained. "But, I mean…Friar's probably got me beat on best all around player, and we've always had a good team. Zay's a better kicker than me, at least."

Josh always downplayed his successes, while bragging about Maya's as though they were the most exciting things to happen in the world. He loved to brag about her intelligence, telling everybody that he was dating a girl genius. He went on and on about her artwork, always telling her that all he wanted as a gift from her for any occasion was one of her pieces. He was at every cheerleading competition she entered and he went to every single art show she was a part of, dragging his family and half of the football team along with him to both types of events.

Sometimes, Maya hated how negative he was about himself, wondering why he couldn't just take the praise, especially from her. But, she found it sort of adorable that he was so quick to downplay his own victories in life, while putting her up on a pedestal.

"Awe, Joshua, you flatter me," Isaiah Babineaux said in a fake, high-pitched voice as he slapped a hand over his heart, fluttering his eyebrows at Josh.

"Better be careful, Josh," Maya teased, flashing a smile at the one true friend she had at school. "Keep building up Zay's talents and I may just have to switch from the quarterback to the kicker," she winked at Zay.

"Sorry, Zay-you can be a better kicker than me, but I'm keeping Maya," Josh said, tightening his grip on Maya.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zay rolled his eyes. "The girl's like my sister anyways-sorry, Legs, but it's true. Besides, how can I take myself off the market? There would be riots in the streets if girls found out they couldn't get a taste of me!"

"Oh, how silly of me to forget," Maya frowned. "I wouldn't want to deny the female population of you. I guess I'll just settle for Josh," She rested her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with sparkling, bright eyes.

"Anyways," Zay laughed, ready for a change of topic. "Do you need anything for the party tonight?" he lowered his voice, leaning in closer a bit.

"No," Maya shook her head. "I've got it covered," She lifted her head back up, starting to eat the sushi that she had ordered and had delivered for her, Missy and Darby that afternoon.

"Did the little princess finally get a fake ID?" Zay asked in shock.

"No," Maya shrugged, dipping a piece of salmon, draped over a mound of rice, into her soy sauce. "I just already have a hook up for the party tonight," She explained, popping the piece into her mouth.

"Who?" Josh and Zay asked at the same time, both in completely different tones.

Josh sounded jealous and slightly outraged. There was a bitter tinge to his outburst, and Maya cringed at the sound of it. Zay, however, seemed amused and somewhat impressed. He was excited at the prospect of Maya branching out and speaking to people who were a bit wilder than the golden girl herself.

"Hey, Zay, slide over one?"

The threesome looked up, shocked to find Lucas Friar standing behind Zay, in all of his bad boy glory.

Dressed in a pair of dark yet distressed jeans that fit him perfectly with a fitted, white tee-shirt with the slightest v-neck, black leather jacket and all, he looked like the typical, stereotyped bad boy in a teen movie. Only ten times hotter, because he was Lucas Friar and he always looked just a little bit better than anybody else.

The shocking thing wasn't so much that Lucas thought it was okay to sit with them. He was popular-actually almost as popular as Josh was. He was a part of the football team and a member of that group. He belonged there, and they all knew it. There was even an empty seat at the table in case he wanted to sit there, because they made sure that the top football players and the top cheerleaders had a seat there.

The shocking part was that Lucas never chose to eat lunch in the cafeteria, yet alone with the other members of their group. He never wanted to seem like he was actually a part of the group.

And it was even stranger that he was requesting that Zay move, because it showed that he had a seat he clearly wanted. He had a purpose for sitting there.

Since Zay had been seated right across from Maya, it was clear that Lucas's purpose for sitting at the table that day was Maya. And Josh was not happy about that at all. But, Zay's loyalties were to Lucas before anybody else.

So, he slid over a chair, shoving and pushing his way until everybody got the hint that they needed to move. Then, he gestured towards his former seat, now empty. Lucas smirked at Josh as he took a seat, dropping down his bagged lunch.

"What do you want?" Josh asked, sliding his hand down from Maya's shoulder, to her waist, giving her a small squeeze.

"To talk to Shortstack about her party," Lucas said, eyes locked on the blonde.

" _You're_ Maya's hookup for tonight?" Missy asked, suddenly bursting into the conversation and peaking head head forward, around Josh's shoulder.

The way she said it was full of shock, but there was a dirty indication to her words. It was as though she was trying to say something else, despite what her words meant and Maya didn't like the way it felt.

"Can we not word it like that?" She asked weakly.

"How much is he charging you for that?"

The same indication was there, as though she were implying something different than what her words would typically mean.

"Nothing," Lucas smirked, eyes still locked on Maya. "We're bartering instead."

"And what, exactly, are you asking from her for a little bit of booze?" Josh asked, a defensive tone in his voice.

"Just some help with homework," Lucas said, flashing an innocent grin. "I tested into all those AP and honors classes, but we all know I'm no genius-not like our little Shortstack over there," he said, playing up his southern twang.

"You want me to tutor you?" Maya asked.

"That's all?" Josh wondered.

"Anyways, Princess, I was thinking-I'll just get whatever's in the mini bar, too. That way, your step-dad won't get charged for it and know what you were up to," He suggested.

"That's actually a pretty smart idea…." Maya said, tailing off as though shocked that Josh had been the one to come up with such a good idea.

"Of course it was," Lucas snorted. "I came up with it, remember?"

* * *

 _In the middle of the night when I'm in this dream  
It's like a million little stars spelling out your name  
You gotta come on, come on, say that we'll be together_

Riley walked into her journalist class for her final period of the day, grateful for her safe haven. She scanned the room, eager to see if anybody of interest to her had selected this particular class to get their Arts credit out of the way.

Their school required an Arts credit every year of high school and Riley took a different journalism class every year in order to get the credit out of the way while still doing something of interest to her. Of course, many people believed that this was the easiest class that one could take, because it was borderline photography for anybody who wasn't a part of the school paper. Sometimes, they put people on the school's news show, making it even easier on the student.

Knowing all of this, Riley was hoping that she would see Lucas Friar sitting behind one of the laptops, sneaking his phone out to play a game of Candy Crush. But, all that she saw sitting there were the usual subjects.

Farkle was in the front of the class, whispering with Isadora Smackle in some sort of heated debate. Charlie was waiting for her in their usual seats, at the table opposite Farkle's own. Sarah was positioned in the chair two over from Charlie's at the same table.

Missy Bradford was sitting in the back of the class, scrolling through her Twitter timeline on her phone with a bored expression on her face, with Billy Ross, her on-again, off-again boyfriend seated besides her, texting away at whatever girl he was planning on using as a conquest that week.

Yogi, the ex-boyfriend of Darby, was sitting in front of Missy, turned around in his seat and talking her ear off about Darby and how much he missed her, missing that Missy wasn't paying the boy any attention.

Back-of-the-class Brenda was sitting at the table opposite Missy and Billy, eyes locked on Farkle with a dreamy expression on her face. Riley couldn't stare at her for too long, of course, because the eery resemblance to Farkle disturbed her, even after all these years. And their tenth and final classmate was Marly Evans, the teacher's pet and the only person who ever seemed to notice Riley's existence, because the pair always seemed to be going head to head.

Riley sighed as she made her way across the room, dropping down in between her friends with a defeated look on her face.

"You have enough classes with Friar," Charlie rolled his eyes.

"I only have two AP classes with him. He has three with Maya," Riley whined, dropping her head dramatically down on her desk.

"You have AP Lit and APUSH with him. That's enough," Charlie rolled his eyes again, trying not to indicate his annoyance with Riley's dramatics in his tone.

"He had _lunch_ with her today!" Riley growled, still facedown on the table in front of her.

"So what? Riley, why are you still so fixated on him?" Charlie sighed.

"We went over this already," Riley snapped, head whipping up as she shot him a nasty glare.

"Can you two just stop with this already? Riley, you know Charlie's into you. Stop rubbing your crush on Lucas in his face. And Charlie, you know that Riley's been obsessed with him for years, so stop acting like a wounded puppy dog every time she brings it up," Sarah snapped, glaring at both of her friends in annoyance.

"Sorry," they both said.

And after that, they sat in silence while Riley focused on the party that would be coming up that night. The party that had the potential to change absolutely everything for her.


	4. Beneath Your Beautiful

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
** **A Girl Meets World Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 3: Beneath Your Beautiful**

 _ **A/N: And here is some-some moments between two of the couples for this story (so far). Still unsure if it should be Riley/Charlie, Riley/Farkle, or Riley with somebody else entirely. Whoever Riley's with will determine who Farkle ends up with. A bit more backstory is added in this chapter as well, and some big choices. Hope you guys like it!**_

* * *

 _You've built your walls so high  
That no one could climb it  
But I'm gonna try_

Maya Hart smirked at her reflection, loving that she still managed to radiate perfection even after her two-hour practice, directly after school.

Her hair was sculpted into a perfectly straight, perfectly even, sky-high ponytail, landing halfway down her back. Her makeup was still perfectly applied, without a single smudge or stray mark. Even her practice clothes showed that she was a girl who was always absolutely perfect in every single way.

A pair of red, super short, spandex shorts hugged her booty, showing off every curve and emphasizing her muscular legs. A white, racer back tank top with AAH PATRIOTS printed in royal blue, cursive font hugged her chest, which was compressed by a matching red sports bra with a zippered front. White ankle socks with red trim peaking out of her white, Nike N-finity sneakers completed her cheerleader look, since she had removed her blue and red, sparkle infused, oversized bow from her hair.

And then she pouted, rolling her eyes as she bitterly turned on her heel, remembering that her perfection was about to be wasted, because Lucas Friar was her ride home.

She wouldn't be racing from the locker room, eager to meet up with her boyfriend who would lift her right off the ground and twirl her around, dramatically kissing her as though they had been apart for years, rather than a few hours.

Missy and Darby wouldn't be following her out of the locker room in their perfect formation, heading off to one of their usual post-practice hang-outs, ready to show off their glory and beauty to the rest of the world.

Instead, she was walking out of the locker room alone and marching her perfectly tight ass over to Lucas Friar's oversized pick-up truck where she would have to struggle to climb inside. And then she would be driven to the liquor store where Lucas would buy whatever it was that they needed for the party, before bringing her directly to her penthouse suite so that the pair could get ready for the party.

"How's Josh handling your date with Friar?" Missy asked, glancing at Maya over her shoulder, standing in just her white sports bra and black spandex shorts.

"It's not a date," Maya rolled her eyes, stuffing her pom-poms and bow into her cheerleading bag and double checking to make sure her purse and backpack were in the bag as well. "He's just getting me some booze for the party tonight."

"It's a date," Missy smirked, turning back towards her locker and grabbing a fitted, cropped, baby pink zip-up sweatshirt. "Believe me, Josh is going to think of it as a date, because it's you with Fuckboy Friar, _alone,"_ she wiggled her eyebrows, slipping the jacket on as she turned to face the rest of the girls in one single, fluid motion.

"It's not a date," Darby defended Maya, the way that she always did. "She's just getting some drinks so our party doesn't suck," the blonde replied, towel-drying her hair.

Darby was one of the few members of their group that had an after school job. While her wealth could probably even rival Maya's, her parents insisted on teaching her responsibility. The result was that she worked at a local animal shelter, earning barely any money for the amount of hours she clocked in. Since she had to work right after practice three days a week, on those days she always made sure to shower after practice on those days.

"I'm just saying," Missy shrugged, removing her shorts. "that we all know how jealous Josh is, and we all know that Friar's got his sights set on Maya, because he knows she's the one girl he can't get," she explained, struggling into a pair of dark denim skinny jeans.

"Josh trusts me," Maya said, trying to convince herself more than she tried to convince Missy or anybody else in the locker room.

And with that, she marched out of the locker room and made her way across the parking lot, pulling open the door to Lucas's truck and throwing her back inside.

And then she looked up at the truck, glaring at the fact that the tire came up to her knee. She was going to have to struggle to get into the passenger's seat. There was no way she could do it on her own, but there was no way that she was going to ask for any help from Lucas.

So, she placed her hands on the seat, attempting to lift one foot up. When that didn't work, she attempted a running start and then jumped. Then, she squatted down low and jumped up, trying to use her upper body strength to get up. She never even attempted anything graceful.

When she heard the laughter, she stopped and did her best to glare up at Lucas, hoping that he was able to see the annoyance in her face.

"Having some trouble?"

"Your truck is unreasonably high," She glared, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're unreasonably short," he rolled his eyes.

She heard a car door open and then slam. Within seconds, Lucas was standing next to her. He picked her up, swooping her up bridal style in his arms, and lifted her up into the passenger seat, smirking at her.

"Your welcome, ma'am," He said, heavily using his southern drawl and tipping an imaginary cowboy hat in her direction.

"You think you're _so_ funny, don't you?" She huffed.

"You're still the same short stack of pancakes you've always been," he said, starting up his truck.

The amusement was radiating from him.

For the first time in a long time, Maya was reminded of what it had felt like, back when Lucas was her best friend. Back when they did absolutely everything together. Back when they were absolutely inseparable. Back in the days when she had teased him relentlessly and he had just allowed it to happen, smiling at her antics as though her witty remarks were the funniest things he had ever heard in his life.

"Shut up, Ranger Rick," She snapped.

"Shut up?" He asked, raising his eyebrows as he drove. "That's the best you got? What happened to Maya Hart, the sassiest girl that I ever had the pleasure of knowing?" he wondered.

"Don't start with me, Huckleberry," Maya glared at him. "Listen, we're just getting some booze for the party. You're helping me set up. That's _it._ We aren't friends, understand?" She stated, her words coming out harsh and full of resentfulness.

"Wow," Lucas said, his knuckles momentarily turning white as he gripped the steering wheel just a little bit tighter than necessary. "Way to kick a guy when he's down."

"How are _you_ down? You're Lucas Friar!"

"Yeah, and the one girl I've been in love with since the seventh grade won't even give me a chance," He muttered, slamming the radio dial to turn on the music.

"What are you talking about? Riley watches you like some sort of sad little puppy dog every single time you walk by her. She tries to make her schedule match up with yours so you'll have classes together. She's in love with you. Just ask her out and you wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. Or, is your reputation too important to you?" Maya asked, watching him from the corner of her eye to gauge his reaction.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he turned the music up. It was some country song, one that Maya could remember from all of the times she had hung out with him back in middle school and he had forced her to listen to his favorites. It wasn't anything that she would opt to listen to now, fearing what her friends would think of her, but the song was good and she couldn't help but enjoy it.

The song was actually one that they had listened to while sitting on the floor of his room, working on a history project one afternoon while his mother cooked the pair dinner. Maya had taken a guitar that she'd found in the back of Lucas's closet-a guitar that he had told her belonged to his grandfather and started to play along with the song, learning the notes from merely listening to the song play. When it had ended, Lucas had played it again, urging her to keep on trying.

He had played it so many times that afternoon that Maya had learned the chords, having them drilled into her. She still found herself strumming the chords when she was sitting with her guitar, working on a song or trying to work her way through a problem.

"You're not talking about Riley, are you?" Maya whispered.

"Of course not," Lucas snapped. "It's you, and it's always been you. Since the day that I met you and you came up to me to introduce yourself to me and hit on me. And you've been trying to push me and Riley together ever since. Ever since you pushed Riley into my lap that first day," He glared out the windshield.

"I'm with Josh," Maya lowered her head.

"I know," Lucas deadpanned. "And I've done my best to respect that. But, you know what? It doesn't change the way that I feel. And I don't know how much longer I can keep hopping around from girl to girl, hoping that I get over you. So, I'm done," He explained, suddenly seeming much calmer than he had before.

"Done?"

"I'm done trying to get over you. I love you, Shortstack, and I always have and I always will. So, if one day, you and Josh don't work out, I'll be here, waiting to pound his face in for hurting you and to treat you like the princess I always thought you were," he explained.

"Huckleberry," Maya sighed.

"I'm not asking for you to do anything. I just want my best friend back, okay? Because, if I have you in my life at all, I'm a better person. So, can we just go back to that friendship, _please?"_ he asked.

All traces of the arrogant, alpha male that he had been for the past few years were gone. Maya was reminded of the amazing boy that she had met on the subway-the one who she had quickly made her best friend. The one who she had a series of inside jokes with. The boy that she missed more than anything else.

"Yeah," Maya whispered. "We can be friends again," she flashed him a warm smile.

"Friends with benefits?" Lucas smirked, suddenly turning back into the boy that Maya had grown used to seeing in the hallways since high school began.

But, she could see it in his eyes. She could see that he meant everything that he had just said. But, he had spent too much time being this arrogant, player of a teenage boy. The traces of who Lucas had become were never going to completely fade away. They'd be there forever, and Maya was going to have to figure out a way to blend this new alter ego with the Sundance that she had been friends with back in middle school.

It would take a lot of work, but it would be worth it.

Because Maya needed him just as much as he needed her.

* * *

 _You let all the girls go  
Makes you feel good  
Don't it?_

Riley stared at her reflection in the mirror, knowing that she was going to be successful in her plan to seduce Lucas Friar that night.

Dressed in a pair of tight, black, ultra-skinny jeans with a series of rips and tears haphazardly left down both legs and a form fitting, high-necked, maroon tank top, she knew that the small curves she possessed were being emphasized and played up. She had added matching maroon, peep toe heels that guarded her entire ankle as well, emphasizing the length of her legs.

Her hair was curled and left wild, teased and sprayed and gel to create a wild mane around her face. Her makeup was smoky with just enough sparkle to entice. She looked sexy, and there was no way that anybody was going to find her invisible that night.

"Ready to go?"

She turned, somewhat impulsively, towards her Bay Window, ready to throw her hands in the air with an excited smile on her face. She wanted her best friend to tell her about how great she looked. She longed to compare outfits with Maya once again.

But, nobody was sitting on the ledge of the window with a cool and confident smirk on their face. The window was slammed and locked shut, the way it had been since her final blow out with Maya all those years ago. And the person who had just entered had entered through her front door, walking into her bedroom via the door, the way that they always did.

Doing her best to compose herself, she turned towards the door with the relaxed smile that had become her usual facial expression in place.

"Yup," She chirped, slipping her phone into her back pocket, glancing at the silicone, ID-holder that was attached to her phone to make sure that her ID, debit card, and some cash were stashed inside, as well as her house key, buried deep on the bottom.

"Looking good," Sarah said, releasing a low whistle.

Sarah, of course, looked at perfect as she always did. Her curls were left casually around her face and her makeup was minimum. She was dressed in a pair of dark denim, boyfriend fit jeans that sat low on her hips. The cropped denim showed a bit of ankle, before her tan, ankle booties started. And she was wearing a simple, white, cropped tank top with a razor back and thin straps.

"You too," Riley smiled, marching from her room and towards the living room. "You see Josh on your way in?" She wondered.

"Yeah, he's waiting for us in the living room. Charlie's with him," Sarah explained.

"Is this a good idea?" Riley wondered, wrapping her arms around herself slowly, hugging herself and staring at the ground.

She knew what Maya would have said. Maya would have told her that it was an awful idea and that she had no clue what was going to happen. Maya would have told her that, while the odds probably weren't in their favor, they were going to look back on that night happily. They'd remember it as an important and good memory. And it would be the night that changed everything. The only mystery-the only uncertainty-was exactly what was going to be changed for them and how. But, Maya would insist that that would be the fun part. The not knowing was half of the fun in life.

"Of course it is," Sarah rolled her eyes. "It was _my_ idea, wasn't it?" She giggled.

And Riley couldn't help it. She laughed right along with her.

Because Sarah wasn't like Maya. The girls may resemble one another in their appearance, but they didn't act alike at all. But, just because Sarah wasn't anything like Maya, it didn't mean that she wasn't still a great friend to Riley. It didn't mean that Sarah wasn't exactly what Riley needed.

* * *

 _We'll be falling, falling  
But that's okay  
'Cause I'll be right here_

Farkle was sitting with Smackle in the living room of his penthouse, trying to read through his AP chemistry textbook. A wide spread of food from room service was sprawled out on the table in front of them, meant to be their dinner for the night.

Smackle was lying, curled up like a cat, in one of the oversized, ultra-modern and super comfortable leather chairs in the living room, while Farkle was sitting cross legged on the fluffy carpet, using the leather couch behind him to lean back against, his book propped up in his lap, using the table as a prop.

And above them, they could hear Maya Hart blaring music-country music, which was strange for her. It was loud, and the party hadn't even started yet. She was stomping her way around, but somebody was up there with her.

"If the set-up for the party is this loud, can you imagine how loud the actual party is going to be?" Farkle snapped, throwing his textbook to the side.

"Farkle, we can study at my house. We don't need to always use your place," Smackle pointed out, not even bothering to look up from her book.

"I should be allowed to sit in my suite and study and enjoy my _life._ My dad pays enough for it, doesn't he? Why should I have to leave just because she wants to have a party in the middle of the week?" Farkle groaned, snapping his head back against the couch.

"You know what, Farkle?" Smackle sighed, closing her book and gently placing it down on the cushion besides her. "The noise isn't what bothers you. I've been you do homework in much more distracting elements without a complaint. What bothers you is the fact that it's Maya and she's upstairs having a party and you aren't going to be there and Riley won't be there and Lucas may be there, but he won't even talk to Maya," Smackle explained.

"I just…what happened between us all, Smackle? We were best friend," He ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident from his tone and mannerisms.

"You grew up and you grew apart. It happens."

"But it wasn't supposed to happen to us…we were supposed to be stronger than that. We were supposed to be _better_ than that."

"Riley and Maya had a fight, Farkle. Horrible things were said and none of us are ever going to know what the two of them said. None of us will ever know anything about it, but it happened and their friendship ended because of it. Even if you and Lucas hadn't drifted away from them…well, things wouldn't have been the same," Smackle said softly, sliding down to sit on the floor with Farkle, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder.

"At least I have you," Farkle sighed, placing a hand over the hand she had resting on his shoulder, giving him reassurance.

"You're always going to have me as a friend, Farkle," Smackle promised.

And then Farkle did something that he hadn't done in years.

He had gotten so used to thinking everything through. He planned out his actions and he plotted out every possible outcome. He didn't do anything without knowing what the result could be, because he wanted to make sure that he was always prepared.

Ever since he lost the friends that encouraged him to take risks, he stopped taking the risks. Because he didn't have the confidence or the encouragement from his friends any longer. He didn't have somebody by his side, swearing that they would be there to help him through anything, no matter what decision he decided to make. No matter what risk it was that he took.

But, he was done being that afraid little boy. He was tired of playing by the rules.

So, he pulled on Smackle's hand, bringing her closer to him. He slid his hand to cup her face, leaning in towards her as he guided her closer to him. And when they were close enough, he pressed his lips against her own, kissing her softly and gently.

It was her first kiss.

It was _his_ first kiss.

And it was absolutely perfect.

"What was that for?" Smackle asked, lowering her gaze towards the floor and her cheeks tinting red.

"Just…something I've been wanting to do for a while now," He admitted, reaching back with one hand to scratch at the back of his neck, trying to avoid looking at her directly, slightly afraid of what was to come next.

"Well….do you think you might….want to do it again?" she wondered, looking back up at him and unable to contain her smile.

In that moment, with her eyes sparkling and full of her hope, cheeks flushed and smile threatening to split her face in half, she looked more beautiful Farkle had ever seen her look before. And all that he really wanted was to kiss her again.

So, that was exactly what he did.

* * *

 _I know you're out of my league  
But that won't scare me away, oh no  
You've carried on so long, you couldn't stop if you tired it_

"Huckleberry, knock it off," Maya shrieked, racing from the kitchen and towards her room.

The party was supposed to start in half an hour and she wasn't even close to ready. She had showered already, but that was the extent of her getting ready process.

Because Lucas had burst into the bathroom as soon as she had turned the shower off. She'd barely had enough time to wrap a towel around her body before he was entering the bathroom, smirk in place, telling her that there was a serious problem.

The problem had been that they didn't have enough _food_ for the party. So, they had spent thirty minutes on the phone with room service, scanning the menu to order some food.

After Lucas had driven the hotel staff completely and total insane, he had told Maya that they needed some desserts. So, the pair had spent an hour baking cupcakes. And then Lucas had tried to start an epic food fight. Which Maya had joined right in on, before catching her reflection in the refrigerator door, eyes growing wide at the sight.

When she had declared that she needed to go take another shower to clean herself off, Lucas had sprayed her with the hose from the kitchen sink, smirking at his antics. Not only was she covered in flour which was now sticky from the added water, but she had butter coating her hands and egg yolk dripping from her hair. She definitely needed to take another quick shower before she tried to get ready for the party. Anything less would result in her looking like a disaster in front of everybody who mattered and she couldn't allow that to happen.

"I have to get ready," She called, slamming the bathroom door shut behind her and clicking it locked this time to ensure that he didn't sneak in on her again.

"And what am I supposed to do?" Lucas called out.

"Set up the mini bar, clean up the kitchen, and get the food ready when room service shows up!" Maya called out cheerfully, starting up the shower and removing the robe she had tied around her waist.

Lucas, meanwhile, was standing in the kitchen with an amused smile on his face.

He had gotten the old Maya back-the one who goofed off and made messes with him. The Maya who had made muffins with him for a project back in the seventh grade, both of them involving themselves in a food fight similar to what they had just done.

She hadn't been the perfect Maya that the rest of the school saw. Not for the past hour and a half at least.

For just a little while, she had ben the Maya Hart that was his best friend. The blonde haired girl who got close to his face and screamed HA-HURR when she didn't know what else to say to him. The one who called him a series of ridiculous nicknames. The one who pulled him in close to her whenever he annoyed her. The one who thought he was Mr. Perfect and mocked him relentlessly about the title.

He sighed, shaking his head, before starting to obey her orders. He had prolonged her getting ready long enough and he wasn't foolish enough to believe that she would give up her perfect image so quickly.

He was going to have to give his plan a little bit more time.

* * *

 _I'm gonna climb inside your ivory tower  
I'll hold your hand  
_ _And then we'll jump right out_ "I have an idea!"

The idea occurred to him while making out with Smackle. The pair had moved onto the couch, lying on the leather with Smackle on top of Farkle. His hands had been roaming her body with a confidence that shocked even himself as he kissed her, moving his lips from her mouth, to the corner of her mouth, down her neck, and moving back up.

When he got the idea, he burst forward, causing Smackle to roll over and land on the soft carpet below them. He winced at the crash that the fall made, but shook it off as he straightened himself up, sitting on the couch with his feet on the ground.

"Huh?" Smackle groaned, rolling over and squatting on her knees, looking up at Farkle in confusion.

"This risk taking and living on the edge is really working for me," He exclaimed, reaching down and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her onto the couch besides him.

"Huh?"

"We're going to the party!"

" _What?"_

"We're going to Maya's party, Smackle!"

"I'm not dressed for that type of thing," Smackle shook her head, looking down at her outfit, still dressed from school.

"You look beautiful," Farkle encouraged her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him.

"Do you really want to go to this party?" Smackle sighed.

"I want to try to get my friends back," Farkle admitted.

"Okay, well, the party starts at eight and its only quarter of now. None of the fun really starts until nine, so we have a good seventy-five minutes," She smirked at him, eyebrows raised.

And then Farkle was kissing her again, lying on top of her.

He didn't know why he had waited so long for this. The feeling was so good, and it was clearly what they had both been waiting for for so long. It just made sense that they would be together. He hated himself for waiting, but he loved himself for finally taking the risk.

* * *

 _Would you let me see beneath your beautiful  
Would you let me see beneath your perfect  
Take it off now, girl, take it off now_

"Just in time," Maya sighed, scanning her reflection over.

She had just scrunched her hair, leaving it loose and wild around her face. Then, she had gotten herself dressed in a dark denim, ultra distressed mini skirt with a cropped, mint green tee shirt with a criss-crossed back. Black heels completed her outfit and she had done her makeup in a neutral style to save time.

She raced from her bedroom and towards the living room, taking in everything that Lucas had managed to accomplish.

The bar was full set up, with red solo cups stacked up high. Each hard liquor was lined up between the stacks of cups, with an ice bucket in the middle. Below that was every mixer they had gotten and he had two coolers full of their lighter beverages on either side of the bar. And he had a keg between each set of coolers. All of the food was lined up in the kitchen with the cupcakes front and center. The lights were dimmed and the music was blaring loudly, switched from country to some Top 40 playlist instead.

"You did good," She observed, walking up behind him.

In doing all of that, he had even found the time to change from his white tee-shirt into a black one. And he smelled as though he had just sprayed some more cologne on himself.

A scent that Maya couldn't help but be enticed with.

Before anything further could happen, however, the door to her apartment swung open and Missy barged inside, with Darby close behind her, their hands full of brown grocery bags.

Missy, of course, looked like a 80's music video sex goddess, with her hair wildly teased, looking as though she had just rolled out of bed, after a long night with a very muscular guy full of stamina. Her makeup was heavy and dark, accenting her features and drawing in any boy who looked at her, telling everybody the type of girl that Missy was with the lustful longing in her eyes.

She was reading a short, tight fitting black mini skirt that ended just about two inches below her butt. A strapless, white peplum top with a low V in it showed off her full chest, and her girls were threatening to pop right out. Multi-colored, strappy heels added to her height and showed off her long legs.

Darby's blonde hair was pulled up into a teased ponytail, perfectly straight and even, but full of volume and sky-high. Her makeup was minimal, yet in shades of rosy pink with a slight glimmer to the whole thing, allowing her to look like some sort of mystical creature, full of beauty.

She was wearing a simple pair of light wash, cropped ultra-skinny jeans with a geometrically shaped bandeau top beneath a black vest. Her assets were showed off, including her wide hips and skinny waist, as well as her full chest, but in a sneaky sort of way. One had to be really looking at her to notice.

"We brought refreshments!" Darby shouted, a large and excited smile on her face.

"…..which clearly weren't needed," Missy said slowly, scanning the penthouse with approval. "How'd you guys do this all so fast?" She asked, shooting accusing eyes at Maya.

"We sat on the phone for about thirty minutes, driving the staff insane as we told them what we wanted and demanded that they get it for Shawn Hunter's step-daughter," Lucas said mischievously. "And while the Princess got ready for her coronation, I set everything up," He smirked.

"Princess?" Darby wondered, amusement evident in her face as she started to lay out the junk food she and Missy had bought.

"Coronation?" Missy gasped, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

The jealousy radiating from her due to a single joke by Lucas thrilled Maya and she marveled at what her revived friendship with Lucas could do for her reputation and her popularity. She didn't have time to bask in her excitement, however, because the door swung open again, allowing her boyfriend to enter with Zay, followed by Riley Matthews and her three nobody best friends.

"What the _fuck_ are the paparazzi doing here?" Missy snapped, eyes locked on Riley, Sarah and Charlie with hatred full of them.

Maya and her friends always referred to Maya in such a way, because of their place on the school newspaper. Maya had come up with the nickname after Riley had released an incredibly nasty story about Missy right after Maya and Riley had ended their friendship and Maya's friendship with Missy had started.

That article was a large part of the reason that Maya and Missy could never truly bond as best friends. Missy somewhat believed that Maya had helped Riley in publishing it, for the sake of Maya's own popularity. Overtime, the bitterness had faded, but a little bit of concern and fear still resided in Missy as a result.

"I had to bring her," Josh muttered. "She made a big fuss about it at dinner," he rolled his eyes, walking right past Missy, pushing past Darby, and grabbing Maya's face in his hands, kissing her long and hard.

It wasn't one of their usual kisses when they saw one another. It was full of a possessiveness that Maya didn't particularly like. And she knew that it was mostly meant for Lucas, to reinforce the fact that Maya belonged to Josh.


	5. Try (PINK)

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 4: Try (Pink)**

 _ **A/N: The more recent chapter! So, my original plan for the party scene was for Maya to feel bad for Riley and agree to help her win over Lucas. But, after I wrote the scene between Lucas and Maya in his truck, that just didn't seem fitting anymore. So, I went down this road and I like it a whole lot more. A new chapter should be out soon, but I may end up updating I Write Sins before I update this one, just because it's been a while. Either way, within the next week, there should be a new update for this story.**_

* * *

 _Ever worried that it might be ruined?  
And does it make you wanna cry?  
When you're out there doing what you're doing..._

"I can't believe that she managed to weasel her way into our party," Missy snarled, perfectly manicured hand wrapped tightly around the red solo cup she was holding, full of foamy, fizzy beer. "That fucking paparazzi slut with her stalker best friends," she rolled her eyes.

She had been ranting about Riley's presence at the party ever since she had walked through the door. Personally, Maya didn't care about Riley and her friends being there. She didn't care that they were there, drinking her booze while Riley made googly eyes at Lucas. She didn't care that Charlie was glaring at Lucas as though he wanted to say something to him for Riley's attraction. And she didn't care that Sarah was strutting her stuff, dancing on the furniture and spilling the majority of her drinks all over the place.

What bothered her was the fact that Riley had played on her brother's sympathies and shown up at Maya's home, a sanctuary that had yet to be invaded by Riley. After the horrible, awful things that Riley had said to her all those years ago, Maya couldn't believe that Riley would do this to her.

It was like she was declaring that the war wasn't over between them. But, that was foolish of her and the brunette should know it, because Maya was going to win. No matter what happened, Maya was going to come out on top. She had the army behind her, the following and support of the entire school. She had the boyfriend at her side, and the protection of the boy that Riley wanted so badly for herself.

There was no way that Riley could win, and Maya was going to make sure that she knew that tonight. She was going to remind Riley just exactly who's world she had entered.

After the horrible things that had been said to her, Maya figured that she deserved that right. She deserved the right to go and tell off Riley, to ruin her.

"Missy," Maya sighed, taking a sip of her Coke and Malibu with a small smirk on her face. "Do you want to go and get some revenge on Riley Matthews for what she did to us freshman year?" She asked, shooting her friend a wicked glance.

"Are you serious?" Missy asked, eyes growing wide in excitement.

"We've been at odds over that bitch for too long. I deserve to have a real best friend and you deserve to have a true friend. So, the two of us are going to go and we're going to destroy her. And then we're going to stop this rivalry," she declared, grabbing a Sharpie from one of the jars Lucas had left filled around the apartment and scrawled her name on the side.

"Seriously?" She wondered, accepting the Marker from Maya as she held it out to her. "What's the plan?" She wondered.

Maya just smirked, not quite giving an answer. Instead, she just turned on her heel and marched off towards the corner Riley had positioned herself in, still sipping on the same beer from when she had first arrived.

Missy followed after, grabbing Darby's arm and pulling her along in excitement. If they were truly going to put aside their rivalries, they were going to become a terrible trio. The unholy trinity, in a way. The girls who ruled the school with an iron fist, sticking by one another's sides no matter what.

If something were done to hurt one of them, something had been done to hurt them all and they would all be working towards their payback.

"Matthews!"

Maya's voice burst out loudly, coming out clear and bold over the music. The brunette's head snapped up to attention and she turned excitedly towards the blonde, clearly hoping for something other than what was bound to happen to happen. Maya would have found it cute, that she was so eager to be noticed and brought out of her obscurity that she got excited just by hearing Maya Hart say her name.

"Wipe that pathetic smile off of your face," Missy snarled, leaning up against the wall.

"Because we've got a lot to say to you and it's not anything to be all Smiley Riley about," Darby smirked, leaning up against the other wall.

With Maya in the middle, Charlie and Riley were locked into their position in the corner and there was nobody there to protect them. They were literally backed into a corner and that was exactly how Maya wanted it.

"What?" Riley paled, becoming just a bit more ghost-like than usual.

"You're pathetic. You get your kicks from writing horrible, untrue, scandalous and slanderous lies about people. You spread rumors. You think that you're a reporter but you're no better than the paparazzi. You make yourself feel good by tearing down anybody that you're secretly jealous of. You did it to Missy and I _know_ that you're just waiting to do it to me, especially after all those _horrible_ things you said about me freshman year," Maya said, her voice a low growl as she stood there with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"I'm talking about the article where you called out Missy for being a _whore_ just because some asshole senior sexually assaulted her at a party freshman year. I'm talking about how, in that same article, you said that the only reason guys liked her was because she was willing to put out. And, newsflash? The girl wasn't willing to 'put out' until _you_ slut-shamed her," Maya's voice was growing louder as the feminist in her started to grow stronger, taking over her anger.

The article about Missy had surprised Maya when she'd first seen it, because Riley had always been a firm feminist. But, apparently Riley didn't include 'slut-shaming' as a sin in her definition of feminism. Instead, she just wanted equality. But, she wasn't afraid or ashamed of calling out male or female students for their sexual encounters. Either way, it sickened Maya that somebody could try to tear down another girl in such a way.

And what bothered her even more was that there lacked any factual basis. All of Riley's proof had consisted of interviews with people who had been at the party, but not from anybody who had been in the group that Missy had been a part of that night.

"Maya, do you really have to do this-"

"And your pathetic crush on Lucas?" Missy threw her head back and laughed as soon as the sentence was out of her mouth. "Well," She said, regaining her composure. "It's never going to happen, because he's been in love with Maya since the seventh grade and any idiot could see that. You were the only person who refused to see it," she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't-"

"Riley, you used to be pretty cool. People used to like you. Yeah, you were a little over the top, but now…now you're just mean and that's why people ignore you and act like you don't exist," Darby shrugged her shoulders.

"Good talking to you, _honey,"_ Maya said, smirking as she used her old nickname for Riley.

And then she turned on her heel, hair flipping with the movement. Missy and Darby followed suite. Before the girls started to walk away, they looked over their shoulders and gave a small little wave, wicked smiles in place.

"See ya, later-enjoy the party," They called over their shoulders.

Then, the three beauties linked arms and walked off, using one another for support as they giggled, their bond immediately strengthened from their defense of one another.

Sure, Maya felt bad for calling Riley out like that. She felt bad for the things that had been said, but she couldn't help it. Riley needed to hear that what she had done affected the people around her and that it sometimes had negative consequences.

* * *

 _Funny how the heart can be deceiving  
More than just a couple times  
Why do we fall in love so easy?_

Lucas watched the entire exchange with an amused expression on his face.

It was sort of hot to watch Maya Hart get all worked up. It was even hotter to watch her defend her friends. And it was the hottest when he was brought up into things, because it showed that he had done something to help push her over the edge. It meant that he affected her in some way, and he loved it. It filled him up with a sense of pride, because he had been able to do the impossible.

He had made Maya Hart lose her cool, despite how perfectly she handled it. She had done it discreetly. She had been confident. And she had done it without bringing a girl to tears or publically ruining her reputation.

He smirked, tipping back the glass bottle of beer he was working on and turned his attention back to Zay, knowing he was going to be expected to say something to him soon. Zay could talk for a long period of time on his own without getting a response, but eventually he was going to expect Lucas to respond to him.

So, he forced himself to tune his best friend back in and tore his eyes away from Maya. Besides, the excitement was over and she was back to drinking and dancing with her friends.

"Looks like Maya and Missy just bonded their friendship," Zay said, releasing a low whistle. "And Maya actually led the attack…man, you spend a few hours with the girl and this happens? What did you do?"

"Nothing," Lucas shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah…sure," Zay rolled his eyes. "That girl's been concerned about what people think of her since I met her, but it got worse after whatever it was Riley said to her freshman year. But, she was so afraid of people judging her that she just let it blow over. So, what did you say to her to get her to defend herself?"

"She was defending Missy," Lucas insisted.

"And Missy tossed you into the mess, meaning that she knows something deeper is happening with Maya regarding you," Zay pointed out.

"Nothing happened," Lucas protested.

"What are you on about, Ranger Rick?" Maya chirped, suddenly joining their conversation by launching herself onto Lucas's back the way she always had since they were in middle school.

"Ranger Rick?" Zay asked, furrowing his eyebrows together as he stared at them.

He had the same expression on his face that he had had back when they had threatened to cut the arts program from the school. He was looking at Lucas and Maya the same way that he looked at the pair back when Lucas had adamantly protested the removal of Maya's precious art class from the school, because he didn't want her talent to waste away.

"That's his name," Maya stated, shooting Zay a playful glare.

"And I'll be here all year," He winked, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat towards Zay with that same amused smirk he had worn all through middle school, whenever Maya teased him for being from Texas or made fun of his accent or compared him to some cowboy from an old Western movie.

"How come you never made fun of me for being from Texas?" Zay wondered.

"Because your accent was the only interesting thing that came from the fact that you were from Texas," Maya rolled her eyes, still clinging onto Lucas's neck so that she could remain perched on his back.

"I stood up in the middle of class and yelled out YEE-HAW when we were going to go back to Texas," Zay dead-panned.

"Yeah, but Lucas rode a gosh darn sheep and he was going to be riding a cow and he had a Pappy Joe and his great-grandfather was a cowboy!" Maya insisted.

"I rode a _bull,"_ Lucas insisted.

"Which is a male cow," Maya shrugged.

"You freaked out and thought I was going to die because of the fact that I was going to ride it, Maya. Don't try and belittle what I did!"

"Yeah, and you asked for _Riley_ when you fell off," Maya rolled her eyes, removing herself from his back and going to walk away.

Lucas reached out, catching her tiny wrist in his hand to keep her from leaving. He pulled her towards him, staring down at her with their faces close to one another.

"I asked for Riley because you told me that you were never speaking to me again. I didn't think you were _there._ I didn't think that you watched me. So don't you _ever_ try to say that I wanted Riley there more than I wanted you, because if I could have jumped off that bull the second I saw you walk away from me, I would have done it just so I could still have you in my life," He said, his green eyes dark as he spoke in a low voice towards her.

"Huckleberry," Maya sighed, staring up at him with a softened expression.

"Forget it," Lucas rolled his eyes, releasing his grip on her. "Go meet up with your boyfriend. You know how I feel about you. You know how I always felt about you. I told you the truth, and you can either believe it or not," He told her, turning around and storming off.

* * *

 _Every wonder about what he's doing?  
How it all turned to lies?  
Sometimes I think it's better to never ask why_

Riley was still standing in the corner, her head lowered and her hair acting as a curtain to shield her face from the rest of the party. She didn't want anything to do with them and she didn't want them to look at her. She didn't want them to see her, because she was ashamed.

She hadn't ever heard that Missy had been assaulted at the party. Nobody had given her the impression that Missy may not have wanted the attention from the older boy. Nobody had even hinted at the fact that anybody at that party thought of Missy as being anything more than a pathetic, freshman girl willing to throw herself at any boy, no matter who they were, just so that she could have some sort of leverage for her own popularity.

And that was exactly how she had described Missy in her article. She had belittled her and hadn't given any sort of evidence that Missy may have been a victim or that the accusations may not be true. Nothing was said in her favor. It was all negative and, looking back, the article seemed highly biased.

Because Riley had never forgiven Missy for hitting on Lucas back in the seventh grade. She had never forgiven her for trying to take the boy that she had loved from her. And she had used her very first article as a freshman to try and tear Missy apart. When she had finally been given the write to publish her own article, she had used it to tear down Missy and tarnish her reputation.

In doing so, she had caused Missy's downward spiral. She had turned Missy into this cruel girl who didn't believe in love. She had made Missy into the slut that she had described her as so long ago.

Maya was right, as well, when she brought up the horrible things that Riley had said about her that night in the bay window. She had taken everything she had known about Maya-she had used every single one of Maya's insecurities against the blonde. And she had enjoyed watching her best friend cry, before disappearing through the window and never coming back.

All three girls were even right about Riley's feelings for Lucas.

Everybody and anybody could tell that Lucas had feelings for Maya. It was clear that Riley was being borderline pathetic in clinging to her hope that Lucas was going to want to be with her, just because he didn't stand a chance with Maya.

She needed to get over Lucas. She needed to move on with her life and completely put her past behind her.

"Riley…do you want to head home? I'll pay for a taxi," Charlie offered, reaching out and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders, shooting her that reassuring smile that had become her safe haven over the past two years.

She looked up, her dark eyes meeting his golden ones.

She didn't know what had overcome her. She didn't know what possessed her to do it, but she couldn't help it. She leaned up, leaned in, and pressed her lips against Charlie's own.

It was nothing special. Just a soft, quick little peck. It wasn't any different than the first kiss that she had had with Lucas. It was her first kiss since she had kissed Lucas. But, it was exactly what she needed as a palette cleanser. It was perfect in getting herself over him. The perfect way to start, at least.

"I want to head home," She whispered softly, eyes still locked on his.

"Oh…okay," He nodded, eyes wide. "Um…can I ask-"

"Charlie," Riley cut him off, giggling at his reaction. "I want to head home, and I want you to come and sneak through my bay window," She winked, taking his head and guiding him towards the door.

Maybe it was wrong of her. Maybe she wasn't being completely fair to Charlie, knowing that he liked her and had liked her since the eighth grade, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Because she was caught up in her own problems right now. Besides, she was sure that she could bring herself to love Charlie. She had come so close before, that she was sure if she followed through with her plan, she would be able to do it.

She could ensure that she could forth herself to fall in love with Charlie. It wouldn't take too much effort. She just knew that it would happen, if she truly put in all of her effort.

And maybe love didn't work that way. Maybe she was wrong to believe that you couldn't control your feelings. From her past experience, it was ridiculous that she could still think that that was how feelings worked. But, Riley was desperate and she was heartbroken. She had to face the fact that she would never have a chance with Lucas.

But with Charlie? She still had a chance there and she was not going to stand by and give that up. She wouldn't allow Maya to humiliate and belittle her-make her question who she was as a person-and then watch Maya stalk off and flirt with Lucas, while dating Riley's brother. Not while Riley was standing in a corner, without anybody to love or anybody to love her. So, she was going to do whatever it took to make things work out with Charlie.

"What?" Charlie asked, allowing her to drag him around the room.

"Did I stutter?" She smirked, glancing at him over her shoulder.

"What's all this about?"

"You ask a lot of questions for a photographer."

"I thought you liked Friar!"

"Yeah, well, things change."

Because if high school had taught her anything, it was that things most definitely changed, whether they were for better or for worse.

* * *

 _Where there is a flame someone's bound to get burned  
But just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die  
You've gotta get up and try, try, try _

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

The fact that Maya Hart actually swore was the first sign that Maya was angry. She tried her hardest not to swear, so when she actually started to use vulgar language, things were at an extreme level. Things were so angry that she was about to lose control.

"First the god damn paparazzi shows up and now the nerd patrol's here?" Missy groaned, eyes locked on the door.

"It's like all of the Six Clique is trying to have some sort of a reunion tonight," Darby observed, taking another swig of her pink, Jamaican Me Happy Seagram's Escape, her favorite beverage of choice.

"I _so_ don't have the patience to deal with this," Maya groaned, rolling her eyes as she helped herself to a small sip of her third Malibu and Coke of the evening. "I'm not even close to being drunk enough to have the patience to deal with this nonsense right now," she whined.

"Alright, well, lucky for you, you have two amazing best friends who are incredibly loyal to you and want to make sure you have an awesome time tonight," Missy said confidently, taking a large swig of her fourth beer of the night and finishing it off.

She tossed her cup to the side and turned her attention towards Darby.

" _You_ go and get some shots of Patron. I want at _least_ six shots so that we each get two, because I want to get _wasted_ tonight," Missy said with a devilish look in her eyes. "Don't forget the limes and the salt, and try to find two sexy boys for us, and bring Josh. Body shots are a must when it comes to tequila," she winked.

Darby nodded, taking off at a sprint to get what was requested from Missy. And then Missy turned towards Maya.

"We got Riley and Charlie to leave," Missy said, placing her hands on Maya's shoulders and forcing her to look her dead in the eyes. "We can do _anything_ together. So, I want you to go and fix whatever happened between you and Lucas, because he looks miserable. And I'm going to go and get rid of the Geek Squad," she ordered, flashing a quick wink at Maya.

And then she was off, twirling around on her heel and dancing her way through the crowds, towards the couple that had just entered the suite.

Maya turned around, crashing into the broad chest of Lucas Friar, who had just been approaching the kitchen counter Maya had been positioned at with her friends. She stumbled backwards, looking up at the giant that stood well above six feet tall and tried to calm down her racing heart as he stared right back down at her, an amused smirk on his face with one eyebrow raised.

He had been grabbing for a cupcake, and stared down at her in shock, eyeing his empty hand in disappointment. It was clear that he hadn't been planning on talking to her, but was more than willing to have a conversation with her, now that they were face to face.

"I'm sorry," Maya blurted out.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," She repeated. "I'm sorry that I brought up Texas and when you said her name. I don't even know why I did it, because it wasn't fair of me," She admitted.

"Don't worry about it," He shook his head, flashing her an easy going smile. "I over reacted a little about it anyways. Hey-speaking of Riley-did you see her and Charlie sneak on out of here after you flipped on her?"

"Of course," Maya laughed. "God, that poor kid is so whipped when it comes to her," Maya sighed, shaking her head.

"You know, she's just going to be worse on you and Missy now, right?" Lucas asked, reaching over Maya's shoulder and grabbing one of the chocolate-vanilla swirl cupcakes that they had worked so hard on making, decorated carefully and artistically with Maya's abilities.

"It doesn't matter," Maya shrugged. "I've got Missy," She said confidentially.

"You know…you could just make sure Riley's not able to hurt you guys anymore," Lucas whispered, leaning in close to her.

"What do you mean?"

"She's crazy about me, isn't she?"

"You're gonna sleep with Riley?"

"Short stop, you know I don't sleep with any of those girls," Lucas chuckled. "I'm saving that for you," He winked.

"Than what are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to break her heart and teach her what happens when you mess with Lucas Friar's girl," He smirked.

"I'm not your girl," Maya reminded him.

"But you _could_ be, because I _want_ you to be. So, you're as good as being my girl," Lucas pointed out, a playful look on his face.

"So…what's the plan?" Maya asked.

"I'll explain it to you and Missy tomorrow, when we're all sober and I've had some more time to has out the details. But, I'm definitely going to need you and Missy for help," He told her, patting her on the shoulder before turning around and walking off.

And Maya stood there, knowing that she was going against her good girl image, but not capable of caring. She had her status, and her father was never going to hear the truth. So, as long as she remained popular and her parents still thought she was a golden child, it didn't matter if she broke a couple of rules.

Besides, Riley had started this war. Maya was just finishing it.

* * *

 _Are you just getting by?  
Tell me are you just getting by  
Where there is desire..._

Farkle knew that he had made a mistake as soon as he saw Missy walking over to him.

Everybody knew that Missy always did Maya's bidding. She was the one who went off and got people to leave when Maya didn't want them around. She was the one who ruined lives and she was the one who had the true power of manipulation. Missy was the one that people had to fear. And it wasn't that Farkle feared her, but he didn't particularly want to have to deal with her on a night that was supposed to be about himself taking some risks.

"Farkle!" The brunette sat, flashing a wide, Chesire-like grin at him. "Isadora," She added, barely glancing at the glossy haired girl with Farkle.

"Hey, Missy," Isadora smiled, scanning the party scene with judgment flooding her eyes.

This wasn't her type of place. It wasn't the type of place that Farkle would usual frequent. But, he had wanted to go, just to see what it was like. Just so he had the story of one high school party to tell in the future. And she had allowed him that indulgence, giving him the extra shove that was needed.

Unfortunately, however, he had subjected her to dealing with Missy and her wrath. Now, the pair was going to have to put up with a verbal smack-down from the brunette.

"Listen," Missy sighed, running a hand through her wild hair. "Maya's had a rough night so far. Smiley Riley showed up and they had another blow out, because Maya was defending me after that article," Missy explained, shocking Farkle with her honesty rather than a series of insults and verbal attacks.

"What? Wait… _Riley_ was here?"

"Anyways, I don't want her to have to deal with anymore drama tonight, so… I'm not going to kick you guys out, because that's not cool. But, I'm going to ask you to just lie low and not start anything," She went on.

This was something new.

Missy was being nice. She seemed as though whatever had happened that night between Maya and Riley had made her genuinely start to care about her best friend. Because there was concern flooding her eyes. There was worry about her best friend.

Farkle couldn't even bring himself to fault her, because she just seemed to care so much. She was trying to protect Maya, and as somebody who had been in love with Maya at one point in his life, he couldn't bring himself to hate anybody who had her best interest at heart. He couldn't fault Missy for this sudden change.

"But, I'm going to warn you," Missy said, narrowing her eyes and leaning in close. "If you're here to try and rekindle a friendship with Maya, I will _cut_ you, because that would upset her, and the last thing that my best friend needs tonight is more stress."

And then Missy was back to her smiling self, flashing them one more excited grin.

"Now, enjoy the party. Help yourself to some drinks. The cupcakes are amazing-and totally not full of marijuana, which is a shocker since Lucas made them," She explained cheerfully. "Snacks are in the kitchen and nonalcoholic drinks are in the fridge," she finished, before turning around with a flip of her hair and making her way confidentially back towards the crowd until she found Maya and Darby.

Farkle watched as Missy shoved a bottle of tequila in the air, cheering loudly before guiding her friends, Joshua Matthews, Lucas Friar, and Zay Babineaux through the crowd, landing at the coffee table where they began to set up for some sort of party ritual that Farkle wasn't really sure of.

"Well," Farkle said, turning towards Smackle with a smile. "We made it through the first obstacle. You ready for some actual fun?" He asked.

"A drink," Smackle said, letting out a breath as she spoke. "I need a drink," She declared, heading off into the crowd, shoving past the already drunk party goers who were grinding along to the loud music that seemed even more deafening up here, than the pulsing ceiling of Farkle's suite would have suggested.

Farkle paused for a second, overcome by a brief moment of shock. And then he was off, struggling to keep up with Smackle in the thick crowd.

He reached her just as she was approaching the bar, grabbing a solo cup and heading towards the keg and struggling to figure out how it worked.

"If you had been able to actually get yourself some beer from that thing, I would have been a little worried that this wasn't your first party," Farkle laughed, walking towards her and helping her with the nozzle.

"How do you know how to use that?" Smackle wondered, accepting the cup from her.

"My dad taught me when I turned sixteen, all excited like it was some sort of big deal. He thought it was a bonding moment. I never thought I'd ever actually need to know how to use one, though," He shrugged, helping himself to a beer.

"Farkle… are you sure that this was a good idea?" Smackle asked, observing the crowd around them.

"We have beer-I know how to use a keg. We made it through Missy. We're good to go, Smackle. We're gonna fit right in," He assured her, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer to him and sneaking a kiss on her cheek.

She turned her head, capturing his lips with her own.

" _Now_ we fit right in," She winked at him.


	6. Something Bad

**I Don't Wanna Be Anything Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Series  
Chapter 5: Something Bad**

 _ **A/N: I'm really surprised by how frequently I've been able to update this story so far on my vacation. I really should update I Write Sins soon, but I'm just loving this story and the feedback it's getting so much. But, the next update is definitely going to be for I Write Sins. I hope.**_

* * *

 _Stand on the bar, stomp your feet, start clappin'  
Got a real bad feeling something bad's about to happen  
Drinks keep coming, throw my head back laughin' _

Maya Hart was leaning in close to her vanity, putting the finishing touches on her eyeliner with a song from _Hamilton_ blaring in the background, when Jonathan Groff's beautiful, velvety voice was interrupted by the loud _ding,_ alerting her that she had gotten a text message.

Finishing off the perfect cat-eyed tail on her left eye, giving a quick comparative glance to make sure that it matched her right eye, she capped her eyeliner and reached for her charging phone, sliding it unlocked and tapping in her code-her anniversary with Josh-before checking her text messages with disinterest.

It was probably just Missy, requesting that their Starbucks run be made _before_ she was picked up, since it was Maya's day to drive the girls to school and Missy was _always_ running late. She didn't need to give it her full attention.

When she saw that the text was from Lucas Friar, however, she knew that something was up. She picked up the phone, staring at the unused contact in awe.

She hadn't had a reason to use Lucas's number since the beginning of ninth grade. It had been so long that she had forgotten that he was in her phone as _Huckleberry,_ rather than by his real name. She hadn't even felt the inspiration to change his contact, because it had gone so unused.

 **HUCKLEBERRRY: I'm bringing you and the girls to school today. Picking you up first. Be there in five minutes.**

Maya frowned, staring at the time on her phone in concern. He would be there ten minutes before she usually left to pick up her friends, which meant she was going to have ten less minutes to get herself ready and in those ten minutes, she would need to find the time to text Missy and Darby so that they knew they had less time to get ready as well.

Opening up the group message between the two girls and herself, she informed them that they had less time and then locked her phone, skipping to a fresh song and smiling in approval as a song from _Wicked_ filled her room.

She applied a quick coat of eyeliner and shook out her perfectly spiraled blonde curls, making sure they fell down her back in a perfectly tangled mess, just the way she liked it. With her makeup and hair complete, she hurried towards her closet to select an outfit for the day.

Yanking on her go-to school outfit, she quickly put on a classic Burberry mini skirt with a black leather belt and a red, high swoop neck, cropped tee shirt. A pair of black, over the knee, sheer knee socks and a pair of red, high heeled, suede ankle boots completed the look. She transferred her purse items over to a red, leather Michael Kors bag and added in a pair of black hoop earrings.

On her way out, she slipped on a pair of red, oversized, designer sunglasses and grabbed a black, fitted leather jacket. Grabbing the rest of her school things, she slung the bags over her shoulder and made her way out of her penthouse, down the hallway and onto the elevator.

Taking a deep breath, she looked down at her phone and checked her most recent messages, hoping that everything was still going to be on track for the morning.

 **MISSY: The one morning I was actually running close to being on time? Ugh, good thing it's for hottie Friar-I'll make sure I'm ready. But I better get my coffee**

 **DARBY: Already ready! See you soon**

 **HUCKLEBERRY: I'm here-get your sexy little ass down here, right now**

She rolled her eyes, informing Lucas that she was on her way down. As soon as the elevator doors opened, she took off, hurrying out of the hotel lobby and towards the beautiful, glossy, almost brand new, lifted pick-up truck in a deep, shiny shade of tannish gold. It was the perfect car for Lucas, but Maya hated it. She despised it, because it humiliated her when she tried to get inside of it.

Sure enough, though, Lucas, remembering the events of the previous afternoon, was waiting for her with the passenger's door opened. He picked her up, setting her bags down on the ground besides him, and placed her in the passenger's seat. And then he gave her all of her bags, placing them on the floor by her feet.

"You know, I could have watched you struggle, because that skirt is _just_ short enough to give me a little sneak peak," He winked, slamming the passenger's side door shut.

"Shut up," Maya grinned, shoving his shoulder as he climbed back into his own seat. "Tell me what this plan is?" She wondered as he started to drive.

"I'll tell you once we picked up Missy," He shrugged.

"Can we run through a Starbucks? We always get coffee before school and Missy is gonna be a miserable bitch without some caffeine," Maya asked, flashing him a bright and cheerful smile in an effort to get him to say yes.

"Whatever the Princess wants, the princess gets," Lucas smirked.

"Why do you call me that?"

She was used to the remarks about her wealth. She had heard everybody make claims that her mother was nothing more than a gold digger, despite the fact that she worked around the clock, despite not needing to, managing her own chain of diners. Sure, Shawn had given her the initial push and the resources needed to start it up, but Katy ran them single-handedly at this point.

She heard people mock her for flaunting her step-father's money as though it were actually her own. People loved to ridicule her freshly accumulated wealth.

It had taken a long time for the taunting to stop and most of it had happened because of Maya's place at the top and the fact that Missy, knowing how it felt to be tormented about one's economic status, bitched out anybody who had anything negative to say about Maya and her wealth.

But, Lucas referring to her as a princess seemed different.

Riley had been the princess all through middle school. Lucas had gotten a white horse and carried Riley away into the metaphorical sunset on it, with a princess crown on her head while he told her that she was his princess. It was a memory that Maya had tried her hardest to suppress. A memory that broke her heart inside a little bit every single time she remembered it.

For Lucas to suddenly be calling Maya it…it felt strange. It felt as though she were Riley's replacement in some sort of way.

It was like Lucas's feelings had shifted. His love for Riley had faded away and now he was interested in Maya, ready to fight for her, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend and was content with her life at the moment.

The last thing she needed was for feelings from her past to start to come out. Feelings about a particular Huckleberry, specifically. Those feelings could not come back up to the surface, because they could threaten everything that she had worked so hard for for so long.

Yet, him calling her "princess" and making her feel as though she had taken the position as the number one girl in his life was not helping her plan. In fact, it put everything in jeopardy. But, the feelings that she got when he called her that was too good to pass up. She was at an impasse and she had no idea what she was supposed to do to change that fact. She longed for the feeling of having all of Lucas's attention, but she couldn't imagine falling from grace.

"Because you _are_ a princess," Lucas shrugged, both hands still firm on the wheel. "You've always been a princess, Maya….at least, to me," He flashed her a small grin.

"That's not true," Maya shook her head. "I'm not the one who got whisked away on a white horse by prince charming," she reminded him, trying to fight the bitterness in her tone.

"You sound angry about that," he observed.

"What? No," She scoffed.

"It was always you, Maya," Lucas rolled his eyes. "I told you that already. It's you now and it was you then. We're going to be together, eventually. You need to be with Josh right now? That's fine, do it. But, eventually we're going to end up together," he said confidentially.

"How can you be so sure about that?"

"Easy," he grinned, turning into the drive through at Starbucks. "It's the secret of life-people change people, remember?" he smirked.

"What does that mean?"

"Give me your order and stop worrying about it. You'll understand soon enough."

* * *

 _'Bout to tear it up down in New Orleans,  
Just like a real life Thelma and Louise  
If the cops catch up they're gonna call it kidnapping_

"Coffee!" Missy cheered, excitedly reaching for the iced coconut milk mocha macchiato that Maya had gotten for her that morning.

Maya was already working her way through her iced white chocolate mocha, and Darby was enjoying her iced, skinny cinnamon dolce latte. All three girls were finally piled into Lucas's truck, fulfilling the boy's fantasies of having the three hottest girls in school sitting in his car in their impossibly short skirts and belly shirts with wild manes.

He was already imagining how his reputation would be increased when he walked into school with the three girls at his side.

Missy, hands down the sexiest girl in the school, especially with her reputation, dressed in a short, black and white plaid rocker shirt with an edgy, jagged hemline and a black cropped tank top with a fitted vest, accenting her chest and showing off her flat stomach. The black, high heeled combat boots she was wearing only gave the entire thing a higher sex appear.

And Darby, in a faded denim mini skirt with a frayed hemline and a yellow crop top with a cut-out back, looked like the perfect, sex-ed up, California beach babe. Her blonde hair was contained with a sunflower head wrap and she was wearing a pay of flatform, yellow and white polka dot shoes.

Then there was Maya, who was, by anybody's definition of the word, beautiful. She was absolutely stunning, in both a classical way and in an imperfect way. She was the best looking girl that Lucas had ever seen in his life and he knew that whatever guy was walking down the hallways with her at his side was going to be the most envied guy in the school. Because they had done the impossible-they had gotten God's gift to the male species for themselves.

It was part of why he hated Josh so much, despite how amazing of a guy Josh was. The dark haired boy had what Lucas could never have for himself. He got to call Maya his own and he got to hold her in his arms. He got to kiss her lips, kiss her neck, kiss her _everywhere._ He was able to hold her hand and walk down the hallways with his hand in her back pocket. He could play with her hair carelessly while she cuddled up to him and he was able to wrap an arm around her and pull her in close. He got to take the adorable pictures with her that made the entire school refer to them as being the definition of relationship goals. He could kiss her on the cheek and run the hallways with her on his back. He could pick her up and swing her around. He could sneak up behind her and cover her eyes, whispering in her ear to 'guess who'. And his answer would always be her turning around with a bright smile and kissing him, rather than saying anything.

"Lucas?"

Maya's beautiful, musical voice broke him out of his thoughts. He turned his attention momentarily from the road, focusing on the blonde haired beauty curled up in the front seat of his truck with a sweet smile on her face.

"What?"

"You said you had a plan? To get Riley to shut up for once and for all about my friends and me?" Maya replied, cocking a simple eyebrow as she focused on him.

"Of course I do," Lucas replied, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel, his attention on the road in front of him once again.

"Well?" Missy poked her head forward, holding her drink in her hands with wide, expectant eyes and an excited, eager smile on her face. "Are you going to _tell_ us what this plan is or are we supposed to read your mind?"

"I'm going to seduce Riley," He said confidentially.

"What?" Missy burst out laughing. " _That's_ your master plan? She gets to be with Lucas Friar, the sexiest guy in the school? How does _that_ punish her?" She asked.

"Because he's not gonna hook up with her," Darby rolled her eyes, stating the fact as though it should have been obvious. "He's never going to actually do anything with her. He's just gonna make her thing that she has a chance and then he's going to break her heart, publically," she explained.

"And where do _we_ fit into this plan?" Maya wondered.

"You're going to offer to help her get with me. Make her appeal to me a little more. And when it happens, you're all gonna confront me as if I was some kind of jerk. So that when she turns on you and accuses you of being in on it, she looks crazy," Lucas smirked.

"So people will think she has a vendetta against us," Maya said, eyes growing wide in realization. "Nothing she writes about us will ever be reliable again!"

"I _love_ it!" Missy chirped, clapping her hands together with her drink balanced between her legs.

"Absolutely _perfect,"_ Darby grinned.

People didn't always realize how wicked Darby could be. They thought she was the sweetest member of the group. The girl who could cause no harm to anybody and actually mean it. Nobody believed that she was anything less than an innocent angel at all times.

But, the truth was, she was the true guard dog of the group. She always had the best gossip and she was always the first source in getting it. She ran the rumor mill at Abigail Adams High School and people knew that if they messed with her, they would be risking her spreading all of their secrets around.

Darby was the biggest culprit of getting revenge, but only when it was because somebody had hurt one of her friends. She was fiercely loyal in that way. And while Maya tried to do everything secretly, Darby had no shame from broadcasting what she had done to protect the people that she cared about. She had been against Riley and her little group of friends since the very beginning. She had been the one who had made sure everybody knew that Maya had been the victim in whatever happened between Maya and Riley, and that the brunette was just waiting for the day to use Maya's secrets against her.

In fact, the only thing that kept Riley from completely spreading slanderous rumors, whether true or not, about Missy at a higher level than what she currently did, was because Darby was prepared to tell the entire school all about a secret that would ruin Riley's entire life. Darby had dirt on Riley that even Maya didn't know about, and Riley lived in a constant state of fear that Darby was going to run around and tell the entire school all about it one day.

Maya wasn't sure what it was and Missy had been trying for years to get it out of Darby, but the blonde's lips were sealed shut. She clearly had some sort of arrangement with Riley in regards to what Riley published and what Darby kept a secret, and Darby was not going to be the one to risk that. She was doing whatever she had to in order to protect her friends, the same way that she always did.

No, it wasn't shocking that Missy and Darby had been so eager to jump on the plan to ruin Riley's reliability as a journalist. The shocker was that Maya was willing to get involved.

But, the blonde had finally reached her breaking point when it came to her ex-best friend. She was ready to bring Riley to her knees and ensure that the paparazzi-wannabe learned the difference between the tabloids and true news reporting.

* * *

 _Ran into a girl in a pretty white dress  
Rolled down a window, where you heading next  
Said I'm heading to a bar with my money out the mattress _

"So, how are we going to go about this?"

Maya was perched up on the railings of the school's steps, spending her lunch period outside. The foursome had agreed to wait until the following day to start their plan, so that the girls had some time to figure out exactly how they wanted to play it out.

In her hands was a perfectly wrapped burrito, full of chicken, black beans, rice, lettuce, cheese and drenched in chipotle ranch. Darby had three tacos lined up in front of her, all of the fixings piled up into hard, crispy shells and she was working on eating her fourth one. Missy had a quesadilla with shredded pork and full of various cheeses. The girls had ordered from their favorite little Mexican restaurant that afternoon, opting to eat the messier meal when they were out of the crowded cafeteria for everyone to watch them.

"Easy," Missy replied, dipping a quarter slice into her spicy salsa. "We walk up to her and tell her that we're sorry we flipped out on her last night. We explain that the alcohol must have gotten to ours heads a little and that we want to make it up to her," She shrugged her shoulders.

"Everybody knows that I wasn't drunk," Maya rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but they can think you were buzzed," Darby pointed out.

"I guess," Maya nodded.

"Listen, she's right there under that stupid tree with her loser friends eating their pathetic lunches. Let's just get this over with," Missy sighed.

"But my tacos!" Darby whined.

"Let's eat first," Maya decided. "I don't want to go and ruin my appetite. And besides, you need to get your bitchiness out before we go and try to talk to her."

The three girls burst out laughing, throwing their heads back as they laughed. Giggling around their meals, they tried to regain their composure, but were unable to contain themselves. It took them about five minutes-Darby managed to get down two of her four tacos during their fit of hysterics-before they were able to compose themselves enough to start talking again.

And of course, their conversation went right back to dealing with their master plan to bring down Riley.

"Is this even gonna work? I know he's sexy Texas Lucas and all, but she left with Charlie. Clearly they hooked up-I mean, have you _seen_ the way he's been walking around this school all day?" Missy wondered.

"He's been wearing a _giant_ I-Just-Had-Sex grin all day," Darby nodded. "I mean, the guy looks like his face is gonna split in half. Guess it was his first time, because we all know that there's no where Smiley Riley could have been any good in the sack," she rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Maya asked, eyeing her friends.

"That there's no way that Riley was any good to the standards of somebody who's actually had sex before," Missy said, chuckling at Maya's silly question.

"How is somebody bad at sex?" Maya asked slowly.

The idea had never really occurred to her that there was a way to be good or bad at sex. She was convinced that it was human nature-that everybody just naturally knew exactly what to do on their first time. She hadn't assumed that somebody could be bad at having sex, because she hadn't seen it as being a talent in anyway.

"Easy," Missy shrugged.

"I don't get it…" Maya frowned.

"It's just…. There are tricks, is all," Missy frowned, unable to explain. "It doesn't matter, because you're gonna be good at it. First of all, you have Darby and me to tell you all the ins and outs when you're ready. Secondly, it's gonna be with _Josh_ and he loves you, which means it's automatically going to be good for you both. And third? You're an epic dancer and people who can dance are good in bed," Missy smirked.

"Which is why we're convinced that Smiley Riley has to _suck_ in bed," Darby snickered.

"And when people have already had sex before, they have higher expectations, because they've learned all the ins and outs. I mean, it's to be expected that a newbie isn't gonna have hot, wild sex their first time. But, the disappointment is still evident if it's not the first time for both of you," Missy replied, finishing off the final piece of her quesadilla.

"At least I won't have to worry about that," Maya said, a relieved smile taking over her face. "It'll be my first and Josh's," She said proudly.

"What are you talking about?" Missy frowned.

"Josh isn't a virgin," Darby laughed.

"We started dating freshman year!" Maya gasped.

"Yeah? And he was dating Ashley Jenkins, that slutty cheerleader who transferred halfway through the year. They hooked up all the time," Missy explained slowly, carefully watching Maya's reaction.

Maya frowned, blinking slowly a few times. She and Josh had never really talked about it before, outside of the fact of knowing that Maya wasn't ready for that step yet. She knew that Josh was, but she hadn't thought that it was because he had already been with somebody else before. She had thought that it was because he was a guy and because he actually loved her.

This, though, made it clear that she had been wrong about Josh. She had never once thought that he might have had sex before his relationship with her started. It just didn't make any sense, because they had been together for so long. They had been so young when they first started going out. And he had never once mentioned it before-she hadn't even heard rumors about it.

She had known that Ashley Jenkins was a major slut. The whole school had known that. But, everybody knew that Josh and Jenkins had broken up when he learned that she had been cheating on him and sleeping with other guys. She had transferred a few months after the break-up, so nobody had ever heard the full story because she hadn't cared what people at the school she was leaving had to say about her. She only cared about her new image at her new school.

"Oh my god," Missy gasped, sliding closer to Maya and wrapping an arm around her comfortably. "You didn't know, did you?" She whispered.

"He never _told_ you?" Darby's eyes darkened.

"It doesn't matter," Maya insisted, shaking her head. "We just never really talked about it," she said softly.

"It _does_ matter," Missy declared, jumping to her feet. "It matters because he's your boyfriend and he's supposed to be honest with you. It matters because he told me that he told you _years_ ago!" Missy's voice was raising and her anger was growing.

"It's fine, Missy," Maya shrugged.

"Maya, it's not _fine!_ He's had you thinking he was a virgin this whole time!"

"I'm going to _kill_ him!" Darby was storming towards the school, ignoring the final taco she had left.

Maya jumped to her feet, burrito completed but ignoring her garbage. She grabbed Darby's arm, tugging gently to stop her from storming inside the building.

"It's fine, okay," Maya sighed. "I'll talk to him," She promised.

"I don't get why he wouldn't tell you," Missy shook her head, running a hand through her hair.

"Listen, it's whatever," Maya rolled her eyes. "He and I are together and he and Ashley are over. It's him and me now and he loves me more than he ever loved her. So, what's it matter that they hooked up? That's all it was-a hook up in a meaningless relationship," Maya insisted, trying to assure herself as well as her friends.

"Totally!"

"Agreed!"

"And besides, we have a mission to complete, don't we?" Maya smirked, turning her attention towards Riley and her friends below the large oak tree.

"That we do," Missy's wicked grin started to take place.

"That's the best way to cheer yourself up, isn't it?" Darby's eyes sparkled mischievously as she took off, leading the group down the steps and towards the courtyard, marching across the green grass of the front yard until they reached the tree.

"Are you here to yell at me again?" Riley groaned, tipping her head back and hitting it against the tree trunk she was leaning against.

"What more could you possibly have to say?" Sarah groaned, looking up from the classic novel she was reading.

She was sitting with her legs crossed in front of her, the book in her lap with her hair creating a curtain to block her face from the rest of the people around her. As always, she was dressed like the classic journalist, in a pair of dark wash, straight leg, high waist skinny jeans with a white, mock-neck, sleeveless crop top and a black blazer over the top. A pair of black, high heeled ankle boots completed her outfit and her larger, oversized, thick-frame glasses gave it a nerdy-chic essence.

"Whatever you have to say, just get it out," Charlie rolled his eyes.

He was lying on his back, head resting in Riley's lap but she didn't seem to be paying it any attention. When Josh and Maya sat like that, she was always messing with his hair or staring down into his eyes. Riley was scrolling through her phone, clearly focused whatever notes she had taken that day for whatever article she was working on.

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you?" Missy rolled her eyes in disgust at Charlie.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sarah asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"It means that Charlie took advantage of Riley's pain last night and hooked up with her," Darby smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And we're not here to yell at her, anyways," Maya replied, placing a hand on her hip and cocking it out, one leg in front of her.

"What are you here for then?" Riley asked, cheeks flushed from the statement about her actions the previous night.

"To apologize," Missy said simply.

"We felt bad for what we said," Darby pouted.

"And we're offering to make it up to you," Maya flashed her a warm grin.

"How?" Riley frowned, clicking the lock button on her phone and staring at the popular trio with interest.

"Easy," Missy shrugged, walking towards Riley and Charlie. "We're gonna help you win over the guy you're actually into," she smirked, grabbing Charlie's shoulders and pushing him off of Riley's lap.

"What are you talking about? Riley's my girlfriend," Charlie said, jumping to his feet.

"Sex doesn't mean you're dating," Missy giggled, pulling Riley to her feet. "Riley, you dating this guy?"

"We never… well, he…. No," Riley shook her head, eyes locked on the girl before her.

"That's what we thought-you're into Lucas, right?" Darby asked sweetly, while Missy circled the girl, taking in the brunette's appearance.

Her hair was piled into a high, sloppy bun on the top of her head. She was wearing a grey, pleated skirt with suspender's attached to it and a black, high neck crop top. Black flats completed the ensemble. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't to Lucas's usual standards. Still, it wouldn't take much of the girls' time to fix it.

"Yeah, but he's into Maya," Riley blushed, staring towards the ground.

"That's just a whim," Maya giggled, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "He just wants me because he can't have me. But, you're attainable to him and we can make you everything he's ever wanted," She assured Riley.

"If he doesn't really like her for who she is, what's the point?" Charlie frowned, eyes dark.

"We're not changing her personality," Darby rolled her eyes.

"No, you're just gonna turn her into a slut," Sarah replied drily.

"No," Missy snapped. "We wouldn't have to do anything to get her that reputation anyways. Everybody's talking about how she shacked up with Charlie last night and that's not doing any good for her reputation. We can fix that, and we can get her the guy she's wanted since seventh grade," Missy promised.

"Why?"

"Because we feel bad," Darby stated.

"We went a little over board last night, and we feel bad about that," Maya said.

"So, what do you say?" Missy asked, flashing a smile to Riley.

"What am I going to have to do?" Riley bit down on her bottom lip.

"We're going to take you shopping after school and get you some different clothes to mix with what you already have, to make your style something that would really appeal to Lucas," Darby explained.

"And then we're going to teach you how to flirt and act aloof, because you can't be too obvious once you're on his radar," Missy went on.

"And we'll get you on his radar," Maya assured.

"So?"

"Are you in?"

"Yeah…" Riley said, taking a deep breath. "I'm in," She nodded.


	7. Better Than Revenge

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Series  
Chapter 6: Better Than Revenge **

_**A/N: I have an idea for a new story that I'm toying around with. It would be LUCAYA, obviously, and it would take place (most likely) immediately after the events in Ski Lodge, following Maya's reaction to Lucas and Riley officially dating and the end of the triangle, with some involvement from Josh. That's a really general and brief description but thoughts?**_

* * *

 _She's not a saint and she's not what you think, she's an actress and she's better known for the things that she does on the mattress  
Soon she's gonna find stealing other people's toys on the playground won't make you many friends  
_ _She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind, there is nothing I do better than revenge_

Maya, Missy and Darby had their arms hooked as they waltzed towards Lucas's truck after cheerleading practice, freshly showered and changed, ready for their shopping trip with Riley. They had sent one of their little minions, Yindra Zayas,to grab them some clothes that were more opportune for shopping during lunch.

The three queen bee's had to give their curly haired friend some credit, because their outfits were perfect.

Maya, dressed in a pair of black, lace, form fitting shorts and a simple white crop top, was in the middle of the pack, elevated by her black, suede, ankle-booties. The same red purse she had been lugging around all day was sitting on the crook of her arm, with her cheerleading back over her shoulder.

On her right was Missy, wearing a pair of black sailor shorts with a black, criss-crossed crop top that showed off her stomach and her back. Black sandals with cork sole wedges put her a few inches above Maya.

And then there was Darby, wearing a pair of denim shorts, cuffed at the hem, with a few random patches on the legs. An off the shoulder, three quarter length, bright yellow crop top matched her Converse sneakers perfectly and kept her from towering over the rest of her friends, forcing her to feel uncomfortable about her tall stature. Besides, Darby hated heels because they were torture on her feet.

"You sure about this?" Missy asked as they approached the truth, where a freshly showered Lucas Friar was leaning against the bed, waiting for the girls with an amused smirk on his face, ignoring Riley Matthews, who was standing besides him and babbling on about something or other.

"This plan is going to work," Maya said confidentially, holding her head up high, allowing the sky-high ponytail she had sculpted her wet curls into to bop against her back from the sudden movement.

"That's not what I'm worried about," Missy shook her head. "Are you sure you're ready to completely give up any hope of ever being friends with Riley again?" She wondered, raising her eyebrows.

"The hope of my friendship with Riley being saved ended the second she slammed her Bay Window shut," Maya said darkly, eyes locked on the perky brunette.

Riley was a hopeless romantic. They had always known that about her and Lucas had always teased her about it. A long time ago, Maya had thought that it was sort of enduring. A cute little quirk that Riley had, allowing her to see the best in every situation and believe that things would work out in her favor in the end.

It made her trusting and it made her naïve. It made her susceptible to being hurt by the actions of others. Because she was always going to believe that other people were going to look out for her.

She refused to acknowledge how selfish and bitter the world really was. She thought that everybody was going to be on her side, rooting for her to come out on top. Because, that was how she was for the rest of the world. As long as she was walking around trying to make the world a happier place for everybody else, she was guaranteed a happy ending.

But, what Riley didn't realize, was that it was her downfall. Her innocence was what was going to crush her, because she would never know when people were out to get her. She would look at people with wide, trusting eyes and she would listen to everything that people told her, as long as they presented her with a shiny, fresh red apple. She would never believe that the apple could be tainted, full of poison that would put her in an eternal sleep.

Eternal, because nobody was going to come and kiss her to wake her up with true love's kiss. That wasn't how it worked in the real world.

So, Riley could stand there, eagerly talking to Lucas. She could get her makeover from Maya and her new friends. And she could believe that Lucas was actually going to want to get with her. That was fine.

It just made Maya's plan easier, because they would be able to crush her without a second thought. Without any effort put in.

Because Riley was never going to see it coming.

This wasn't just revenge for what Riley had written about Missy all those years ago. It wasn't just revenge for the things that had been said at the Bay Window during that final fight. It wasn't just about revenge over Riley locking Maya out of her life. It was about revenge for something far greater than that.

It was revenge for all of the hurtful things that Riley had ever said about Maya. For all of the times that Maya had pushed aside her own feelings to keep Riley happy. For all of the things that Maya had ever sacrificed, so that Riley could have absolutely everything. From the perfectly structured family, to the stable income, to the loving boyfriend, to the protective friends to the perfect grades.

Riley got to have everything, and whenever Maya started to rise above the status that Riley had given her-as the best friend-Riley was quick to remind her where she belonged. And Maya was sick of that. She was over it.

And she was done rolling over so that Riley could have the picture perfect life that she had always imagined for herself.

"Let's do this," Maya declared, narrowing her eyes as she took the final few strides.

It was time for her revenge. The revenge she had been waiting over a year to get. It wasn't enough just to have everything that Riley had ever wanted. Because Maya had always wanted those things for herself, anyways. It was time to get some sort of real revenge-to make Riley feel as pathetic as she had made Maya feel for the majority of their friendship. To make Riley want to go home and cry herself to sleep, because she was truly alone, the same way that Maya had done so many times because of her so-called best friend and the cruel things she had said.

No, it was time for Maya's revenge and there was really nothing that Maya did better than revenge.

* * *

 _I never saw it coming, wouldn't have expected it  
I underestimated just who I was dealing with  
She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum  
She took him faster than you could say sabotage _

Riley was positioned between Darby and Missy in the backseat of Lucas's truck and had never felt more like a hostage before in her life.

She wasn't tied up, obviously. Nor was she gagged. She was sitting there on her full free will and she had any opportunity to leave. She could speak whenever she wished to. But, she felt like she was there because she had no real choice in the matter. Like there would be dire consequences if she tried to cancel the shopping trip.

The girls would never actually allow Riley to leave, because they had an ulterior motive. She knew that and she understood that. She wasn't stupid, no matter how naïve the popular girls thought that she was. She was no longer the doe-eyed child who had thought the world was full of sunshine, rainbows and unicorns. She had grown up from that childlike wonder and she had become somewhat jaded.

So, she understood the concept of ulterior motives and she knew that these girls had some. They wanted to stop Riley from writing horrid articles about them. And, if they were planning on doing that by giving her a shot with Lucas Friar, she was going to play their game.

Still, it had been so long since she had hung out with Maya. She had never been all that close with Darby and she downright hated Missy. Things were destined to be awkward and Riley had never been good when it came to awkward situations. That was when her goofiest side come out, the one that was ridiculed so badly.

And the fact that Lucas Friar, the goal in this entire scheme, was sitting in the driver's seat, chatting easily with Maya and the other two girls, going as far as to flirt with them, even, just made it even more uncomfortable for Riley to sit there.

But, she was going to power through. She would plaster on a smile and do whatever it took to get where she needed to be. She would bide her time and do everything and anything to protect herself in this situation.

She would gather a large file of intel, learning all of the secrets that the three girls had. If need be, she would pit them against one another to allow for even more secrets to be revealed about the seemingly flawless girls. She would learn all that she needed to know in order to destroy them.

The article that she would post after this entire ordeal was going to destroy all three of the girls and there was nothing that they could do about it, because it would be full of nothing but the truth.

This was the ultimate test of her journalist powers, of course. She had never worked a story like this, but she wasn't afraid. She was confident that she was going to succeed.

Because there was more than enough riding on this.

In fact, _everything_ was riding on this.

She was going to get her revenge on the girls for everything they had ever done to her. She was going to tear them apart and ripe their seemingly perfect world apart.

If they wanted to walk around like they owned the world, that was okay with Riley. But, they had to be prepared for a revolution. People were going to rebel when they were oppressed for long, especially by somebody as horrid Maya, Darby or Missy.

"Riley?"

Darby's voice broke through Riley's thoughts, pulling her back to the scene unfolding in Lucas's pickup truck.

"Huh?" Riley asked, tearing her eyes away from the windshield and turning towards the blonde, forcing on a meek smile during the process.

"We were just wondering if your dad would be okay with you having a sleepover with us tonight? Our parents don't mind if we all crash at Maya's whenever, but we weren't show what your dad's rule was about sleepovers on a school night," Darby said, flashing her a friendly smile.

"Oh…um, let me ask him," Riley whispered, grabbing her phone from her pocket and shooting off a quick text to her father.

A sleepover would be the perfect opportunity to learn all of their secrets. It would give her just enough intel and a secret look into the reality of Maya Hart's new life. She could probably even get some photos to help support her claims, making her article even more reliable. She could create a story that would finally allow her to surpass Marley in the school paper and take on the role of the editor all on her own.

"If not, that's totally okay and we'll just swing by your place to pick you up for school in the morning, but we thought it would be fun to all have some real girl time and bond," Maya explained, flashing a warm smile over her shoulder. "You know, I've missed you, pumpkin," her eyes sparkled as she used Riley's old nickname.

It was the use of the nickname that caused Riley to pause.

Maya's entire face had softened at the word. Her eyes were bright and her smile was honest. Riley couldn't imagine that Maya was faking this to support her wicked plan. Maya was good at lying, but she had never been able to lie to Riley, just as Riley had never been able to lie to Maya.

Maybe she was taking things just a little bit too far. Maybe she was being unfair, by assuming that the girls were up to no good. After all, regardless of whether or not they had an ulterior motive, they were going above and beyond to give Riley something that she had always wanted. They were promising her a chance with Lucas and giving her a makeover that would increase her confidence level.

"Is that your dad?" Missy wondered, peering over Riley's shoulder as her phone went off.

"Oh, um, yeah," Riley frowned, staring down at it. "He said that's fine, as long as I'm at Maya's," she said softly.

"Okay, step one of this process," Maya giggled. "We gotta get your confidence level _high,"_ she sang out, voice at full volume.

"What exactly is this process?" Lucas asked, turning towards Maya with an amused smirk on his face.

"We want to give Riley a little more confidence and we figure we've been pretty awful to her for the past few years, so we thought we'd make it up to her," Missy shrugged, examining her flawlessly manicured nails.

"You three are doing something nice?" Lucas snorted.

"We're _angels,"_ Darby gasped, shooting Lucas a mock-insulted look.

"We're always doing something nice," Maya pouted. "Don't you think that we're nice girls?' She asked him.

"Awe, Maya, you know I could never insult you," Lucas laughed, shaking his head. "You're far too adorable when you make that face, though, so it's pretty fun to get it out of her," he smirked.

"You know, one of these days, Josh is going to kill you for the way you talk to me," Maya rolled her eyes.

"But today," Lucas said, leaning in close to her and placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek as he stopped for a red light. "Is not that day," he grinned like a little boy who had gotten away with sneaking a cookie before dinner as he turned his attention back to the road.

Riley filed the memory away in the back of her mind.

She might have decided that it was time to give them all a fair chance, but she was still going to have a back up. She needed something in her back pocket, just in case something happened. Just in case she was maybe wrong about them. So far, she something to hold against Maya-because ruining Maya's relationship with Josh, if need be, would destroy the blonde and tear her away from her status at the top of the social pyramid.

Now, she just needed something to tear Darby and Missy down.

Lucas was fine-because there was no way he was in on this, and there was no way she was ever going to be able to hurt him.

* * *

 _I had him right there where I wanted him  
She came along, got him alone  
And let's hear the applause _

Farkle was sitting in the food court of the mall with Smackle, sharing a frozen yogurt, when he spotted Riley and Maya working their way through the mall with Missy and Darby trailing closely behind, their arms full of shopping bags.

"What the hell…." Farkle frowned, peering around Smackle's shoulder as he squinted, trying to ensure that he was really seeing what he thought it was that he was seeing.

"What?" Smackle asked, eyebrows furrowing together as she glanced over her shoulder, scanning the crowds to try to figure out what her boyfriend could possibly be looking at that had gotten him into such a tizzy.

When she spotted the girls, she rolled her eyes and turned forward, crossing her arms over her chest. She shot him a pointed look, waiting for him to make some sort of comment about her obvious frustration with the situation at hand.

"What?" He asked innocently, shooting her that adorable grin that she usually couldn't deny.

This time, it was different.

They were officially dating, yet there he was, staring at Riley and Maya. He was frustration because of something involving the girls. On their first date, he was devoting his attention to his former best friends and it killed her.

She could not allow this boy to break her heart. She refused to give him that type of power over her, because he didn't deserve it.

If he couldn't be trusted not to hurt her, he was not the boy that she thought he was. Maybe he had claimed her first kiss. Maybe they had attended her first high school party together, as a couple. Maybe they were sitting across from one another, sharing a yogurt with goofy grins on their faces.

That didn't matter anymore. It was all over now, because he had tainted this memory. A memory that should be special for the two of them.

"You're focused on Maya and Riley," Smackle barked.

"I just noticed that they were here together. I thought it was weird, is all," he said sheepishly, lowering his head in shame.

At least he was aware that what he was doing was wrong. At least he knew that he wasn't supposed to be focused on two other girls when he was out at her. And at least he had the courtesy to try to play dumb about the situation, acting as though he was innocent. It would make her feel a little bit better, if this wasn't a constant occurrence. If this hadn't been something that had been going on since the day she had befriended him.

He had always put them first. Even when they had first met and attempted dating, in the way two middle schoolers considered a relationship, he had always had two people that came right before her.

Riley was his life.

He would do anything to keep the brunette happy, even if it meant torturing the blonde. He wanted to make sure that Riley was protected at all times, which was why he was one of the founding members of the Riley Committee. He loved Riley so much that the skinny boy that he was had a violent tendency when it came to defending her and her honor.

And the blonde?

She had his heart and she always would. She was the girl that he would never stand a chance with, even before she was the walking goddess, captaining the cheerleading team. He had always fantasized about being with the blonde beauty, even before she had risen to the top of the social pyramid. And he had always known that it was a dream, thinking that he stood a chance with her. But, despite the fact that he knew he could never be with her, he wanted to make sure that she was protected from any further harm that what she had already endured in life.

The only time it got hard for him was when he was forced to pick between the two beauties. He had sworn to never love one more than the other, but there were times when he needed to pick one over the other, regardless of what his heart wanted.

Smackle didn't want to be his third choice.

She had always wanted to be his first choice, but she had known that she never stood a chance at taking that title.

In a way, it had made her the happiest she had ever been when Farkle had ended his friendship with Maya and Riley. It meant that she finally had him all to herself. Nobody else was going to challenge her spot as number one in his heart.

Yet, even now, Farkle still put the girls before her.

She had to accept the fact that she would never be put before him, because she just didn't matter as much as those two beautiful girls.

She had known from a young age that she could never compete with them in terms of beauty. Maya had this imperfection about her features that made her absolutely breathtaking, because it was clear that she was one of a kind. And Riley was the definition of a classical beauty, looking like she could star in any sort of old Hollywood classic film.

How was Smackle supposed to compete with girls that looked like they had walked right off of the glossy pages of a fashion magazine?

She couldn't compete with them in terms of sense of humor, either, because Riley was so naturally goofy that every single one of her quirks sent her friends into rounds of hysterics just by glancing at her. And Maya had a wicked, somewhat dry sense of humor that came out with witty, sarcastic remarks that never failed to get a crowd laughing.

The only thing that she was able to beat them at was being smart. She was far smarter than they were. She was wiser and brighter and more intelligent in general. But, what did that do her? She was stupid in most of the ways that really mattered and she was always going to be. She would never know how to flirt or interact properly in a social setting. She would never know how to understand the male mind. She would never have the street smarts that Maya had or the common sense that Riley had.

She was a brain, because she was a book worm. And everything she knew, she had learned about in books.

Books and cleverness. That was what she was capable of. There were more important things-bravery and friendship. Things that she would never be able to comprehend in its entirety. Things that Maya and Riley could write a book about, because they were the types of girls that got to experience those things.

So, they had more than what seemed fair for anybody else.

It didn't seem right that they got to have Farkle as well.

"I'm done, Farkle," Smackle sighed, lowering her head. "I can't play this game anymore… I can't compete with them. That means, you can run off and try to fix things with them, or you can stay here and accept that I love you exactly as you are," she whispered, daring to look up at him and make eye contact.

"Are you…. Smackle, are you breaking up with me?" Farkle asked.

"I'm giving you a choice, Farkle," Smackle sighed. "It's me, or it's the memory of your old friends. Because, as hard as I try, I can't compete with them. And I definitely can't compete with the illusion of the two of them you've built up in your head. You make them out to be perfect, and I'm far from that," Smackle admitted, running a hand through her hair.

"Don't do this," Farkle sighed.

"I have to, Farkle. I have to do this for me," she shook her head, rising to her feet.

"Smackle, don't go," Farkle begged.

"I can't, Farkle.," Smackle shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I have to go…"

And with that, she walked away.

Because she was done trying to compete with a memory. With a fantasy that Farkle had made up, where both Riley and Maya were the definition of perfection.

She couldn't do it, just like she couldn't really leave him.

So, she was going to do something she had sworn she'd never do.

She was going to get her revenge and she was going to show Farkle what he was missing out on. She was going to take them up on the offer they always gave her and she was going to became the very essence of what she hated.

Smackle was a genius, and she knew exactly what it was that she was doing, and it wasn't going to be hard for her to accomplish it.

After all, she had an inside source there to help her through the hardest parts.

Sliding her phone out of her back pocket, she hit the second number in her speed dial and held her phone up to her ear, knowing that the person on the other end would pick up after the third ring, the way that they always did.

Sure enough, as soon as the third ring ended, she heard the click signaling that the call had been received.

"Zay? Hey, It's Izzy-think you can give me some help with something?" She asked, a large, wicked grin beginning to spread across her features.

She was going to prove to everybody-including herself-that she was more than capable of competing with Maya and Riley. She was going to do whatever it took to make sure that she was ensured her happily ever after, because it just wasn't fair that the perfect, pretty girls like Maya and Riley got whatever it was that they wanted, just because they flipped their hair and smiled and giggled at just the right times in just the right way.

No, Smackle was done rolling over and allowing people to overlook her. She was done allowing Farkle to partake in this competition that shouldn't even exist. She was going to come out on top and she was going to enjoy every single second of wiping the smug looks off of Maya and Riley's faces, replacing them immediately with shocked expressions when they saw that quiet, socially awkward, Isadora Smackle-the school's genius-was a potential threat to them. A girl who was pretty and aware of it. A girl who could flirt and flip her hair and giggle and smile.

"And what can I do ya for?" Zay asked, his southern accent heavy as he spoke.

And then Smackle told him the entire plan, knowing that he would immediately approve and agree to help her.

* * *

 _But sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know  
And pushing people down won't get you where you want to go  
They wouldn't teach you that in prep school so it's up to me_

Maya didn't know how much more of Riley she could take.

She had forgotten just how exhausting it was to spend time with somebody who was constantly happy and cheerful. Somebody who never stopped talking and who babbled on about nonsensical things. A girl who was quirky and out there and had no sense when she was getting annoying.

Missy and Darby had gotten annoyed long before Maya, but she had to give her friends credit for not bitching the brunette out. In fact, they were still being nice to her and laughing at her antics as though they thought she was funny.

Yet, Maya could see the annoyance in their eyes. She could see the tension in their smiles. She could see Missy clench her fists tightly, tilt her head backwards and roll her eyes, every single time Riley said something directly to her, when the taller brunette wasn't able to see the popular girl's response. And Maya could see Darby whispering to herself, mouthing the words to a mantra, encouraging her to play nice.

It had been one excruciating car ride from the school to Maya's apartment to grab her car. Then a seemingly endless car ride to the mall and a three hour shopping spree.

And the worst part was?

They hadn't even left the mall yet. They still had a sleepover that night that they had to power through, and they already wanted to throw Riley off of the nearest skyscraper.

She was frustrating, because she was like a child. It was like the three most popular girls in school were being forced to babysit for free, and they were not enjoying it. Because, an adorable toddler who acted in such a way? That was enduring. A sixteen-year-old junior in high school who sang songs about everything was in the process of doing? That was just weird and border line psychotic.

Seriously, who acted like that? Maya had never met a single girl in the world who acted the way that Riley did. It was something Maya had gotten used to during their years of friendship. Now, having had some distance from the brunette, she was able to see just how strange it was.

And she pitied her friends, who had never once been exposed to such a situation. Her friends had never had to deal with this and they didn't have a resistance against it the way that Maya had for herself.

It had taken Maya over an hour to start to get annoyed with Riley's personality. Missy was long passed the point of cursing Riley's entire existence and Darby had long ago wanted to sleep the girl senseless, begging her to get a clue.

She didn't know when to shut up, and apparently everything excited her. It was like she had never once been on a shopping trip before. It was like she had never been to the mall before, even. When they had taken her to Jamba Juice for their pre-shopping drinks, Missy had actually asked her if she had ever been there before. She had-she, Charlie, and Sarah went once a week, according to her.

Maya didn't know how she was supposed to make the plan work, when Riley's personality was like nails on a chalk board.

Lucas was going to try to swat her away like she was some kind of gnat. He hated perky girls and he hated bubbly personalities. He put up with girls like that just long enough to get hat he wanted, and then he was done with them, passing them onto Zay and Billy, who _loved_ dealing with girls who didn't know how to shut up.

Long story short?

Maya was about to _murder_ Riley Matthews, and it was only the first day of their plan.

A plan that, according to Missy's schedule, was going to take them at least two weeks to accomplish. A plan that involved, according to Darby's logic, the complete dedication of the girls and they were going to have to be all smiley and accepting of the brunette in all of her obnoxious glory.

It was going to be the longest two weeks of Maya's life, she was sure of that much, and it was going to ruin the first two weeks of her junior year-the year that was supposed to be the absolute best year of her entire life.

"Riley," Maya snapped, as Riley babbled excitedly about all of her new clothes on the way to Maya's car as the girls carried their frozen yogurt out of the mall. "Can I give you one small little tip in trying to impress Lucas? Because it's actually really important to getting his attention and keeping it," She said with a sickly sweet smile taking over her face.

"Of course!" Riley said brightly, eager for the help.

"SHUT UP!" She burst out.

Darby and Missy immediately burst into giggles, as Maya smirked, explaining how Lucas liked girls who left a little bit to the imagination.


	8. Broken Arrow

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Series  
Chapter 7: Broken Arrow**

 _ **A/N: Sorry it's been so long! I've just been working on my other story nonstop lately and this story sort of got lost in the fold. But, I think this chapter makes up for it, because the plot really escalates. Enjoy and, as always, let me know what you think.**_

* * *

 _What do you do when your hearts in two places?  
You feel great but you're torn inside  
You feel love but you just can't embrace it  
When you found the right one at the wrong time_

Maya Hart should have known that this sleepover wasn't going to be a good idea from the very beginning. She should have known that it would lead to nothing but trouble. And she should have known that this was going to become the most complicated mess of her life, when it came to the fact that she would have to skirt around the truth with her friends.

They didn't know anything about her newfound friendship with Lucas. They didn't know that Lucas had confessed his feelings for her and vowed to wait until she realized the truth about her own feelings. They didn't know that Maya was starting to doubt her relationship with Josh, wondering if it might be a little bit more about the status that it gave her than the feelings that either of them had.

She couldn't tell them any of that now, of course. If she tried to do that, Riley would hear it all and she was Josh's twin sister. Maya didn't trust the brunette as far as she could throw her and she was convinced that Riley would repeat everything she heard to her big brother, for a price. And if Josh's price wasn't just right, Riley would publish it all in the school paper and Maya would be absolutely screwed, because her reputation and her relationship would be tarnished, before she had a second to figure out her own thoughts and feelings on the subject.

Of course, none of her friends should be completely honest that night, because Riley was bound to be on the prowl for some secrets to use against them.

It didn't matter what she found out, once Lucas was with her. She couldn't turn against them, once their plan was truly in action. But now? In the early stages? It was impossible for them to trust her, because she could easily ruin them.

Exposing their secrets when their plan was happening, though, meant that everything was okay for the popular girls. People would either think that Riley was making them up, because Lucas had used her the way he used most girls, or they would pity the popular girls for having trusted Riley and trying to help her, only to be stabbed in the back by the journalist.

Their reputations would be improved by Riley exposing a nasty story about any of them after the course of these next few days. But for anything to come out immediately would mean that their lives were over.

And Maya couldn't have that. Not when she had just gotten them all on the same page and strengthened their friendship as a whole.

"So," Riley chirped, dropping down onto one of the cots Maya had had room service bring up for her guests. "What do you guys usually do at sleepovers?" She wondered, bringing her legs up onto the cot and sitting with them crossed pretzel style in front of her.

"We eat a shit ton of food," Missy smirked, "And drink a shit ton of alcohol," she brought her strawberry daiquiri up to her lips and took a long, content sip, crossing her eyes.

"You're such a freak," Maya snickered, throwing one of her pillows at Missy.

"We just talk about stuff," Darby shrugged. "Usually, we go out onto Maya's deck and we sit and just talk about life," she explained with a grin.

"You have a place to talk about things?" Riley wondered, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"Yeah," Missy nodded, rolling her eyes. "In fact, I need to hear all about Maya's adorable relationship with your brother, _immediately,_ so we need to get the hell out there," she said, lunging towards Maya's bed and grabbing her best friend's arm.

Riley plastered on a fake smile, watching Maya in her new life. Watching as Missy tugged her from the bed, onto the carpeted ground and then brought her to her feet, hugging her to apologize. She watched as Missy handed Maya a pink, blended drink with a yellow umbrella in it, almost identical to the one that Missy had with a blue umbrella in it. She watched, fighting to keep the smile on her face as Maya insisted that she have the blue one, because she hated yellow, and switch the umbrellas, fighting off a protesting Missy. She watched Darby jump in the middle of the girls and hand Missy a green umbrella, taking the yellow for herself. And she watched as the girls giggled their way out towards Maya's patio, dropping into seats as though they had designated spots.

Missy and Maya, like the perfect best friends that they were in their matching, Victoria's Secret, boxer pajama sets, with the short cotton, pin striped shorts and the long sleeve, button down, matching shirts-Maya's in navy and pale blue while Missy's was hot pink and baby pink. A navy blue, ribbed tank top that showed off her stomach and belly button ring completed Maya's look and Missy had on the same shirt in pale pink. And then there was Darby, in a long sleeved, light flannel, black and white print romper pajama set.

Maya took a seat in the center patio chair, crossing her legs pretzel style in front of her. Missy took a seat on her left, facing inwards with her legs tucked underneath her. And then there was Darby, facing her friends as she sat on her knees, leaning towards her friends eagerly.

Riley sighed, watching the scene.

Maya had new friends and she had a new bay window. She didn't need Riley anymore, and that hurt more than anything else.

* * *

 _What do you do when you're stuck  
Because the one that you love  
Has pushed you away  
And you can't deal with the pain?_

Lucas could remember back when Maya had been his very best friend. He could remember when Maya had had a crush on him, and he had been told he had to pick between her and Riley. He remembered that he had been the reason for the majority of this mess, all because he had refused to pick, unsure of what girl he wanted to be with. Unable to bring himself t hurt either of the two girls, because he cared about them both so much.

He could trace the origins of his fuck boy nature back to that triangle mess, in all honesty. Because if he had just been able to pick Maya-if he had just known, all those years ago, that Maya was the love of his life-things would have been okay.

She and Riley would have worked things out and they would still be the best of friends. Farkle would still be at Lucas's side, helping him through his school work while Lucas helped keep him safe from the school's bullies. Smackle would be with Farkle and Lucas would have Riley and Zay wouldn't be torn between his friends, and Riley would be free to find somebody else that she truly loved.

Maya wouldn't be the popular princess who ruled the school with an iron fist. She wouldn't be so concerned about maintaining a picture perfect image. She would be free to be the true Maya-the girl that covered ugly parks in beautiful graffiti. The girl who stood up for her friends no matter what. The girl who was fiercely loyal and the best friend that anybody could ever care to have.

Riley wouldn't be this miserable mess, so unsure of herself that she had to tear others down. Instead, she would be the same quirky girl who needed Maya to keep her from falling over the edge and losing her grip on reality. Riley would be the fun-loving, free spirit.

And Farkle wouldn't be a hostile nerd who looked at the rest of the school with disdain. Who looked at everybody walking the halls with him as though he couldn't wait to be away from them, because he knew that he was so much better than them all and he was meant for far greater things than any of them were ever going to be able to accomplish. Instead, he would be happy and quirky, plotting to take over the world.

As for Lucas?

Well, he wouldn't be the jack ass who hurt girls just to prove that he could. He would be in love and he would believe in happy endings. He would be the same southern hero who was insecure about his relationships, rather than the asshole who needed to hurt girls as soon as they got attached, to keep himself from ever getting attached to them, because he was terrified of getting hurt himself.

No, Lucas could remember back when he had had Maya Hart all to himself and he longed for those days back. He wanted that friendship back. It was all that he really wanted and all that he had ever longed for.

He could care less about having Farkle and Riley back. They had turned into people he didn't care to know. But, when he was spending time with just Maya, he saw traces of his old friend. And he longed for that girl to come back. He wanted her back all of the time, for everybody to see. He wanted Maya Hart to be herself, because he knew that the rest of the school would love her just as much as he did.

But, he needed a plan and he needed a good plan to get that to happen.

To start off, he had concocted a plan to taunt Riley. That way, he would be able to help Maya get her revenge on the girl who had hurt her so badly. He could show everybody-Maya included-that he was truly over Riley and that whatever feelings he had felt for her in the past were long gone.

There wasn't a step two just yet, but he needed to figure it out and he needed to figure it out fast. He was hoping that he could come up with something to remind her of what she felt like when she was her old self. He wanted to force her to be the old Maya again, so that she would be reminded of that amazing feeling. So that she would go back to being who she really was, telling everybody else that whatever they thought of her real self, she just didn't care. Because that was who she was and they could take it or leave it.

The only thing that he knew for sure was that he needed Zay, his best friend, for help with this plan. He needed the boy who always knew what to do to get his way to help him figure out how he could get the girl of his dreams.

Which explained why he was sitting at Pinkberry with a frozen yogurt in front of him, with Zay across from him, with his own towering cup of frozen yogurt.

What wasn't explained by Lucas's problem was the fact that Isadora Smackle was sitting besides Zay, twirling a spoon around her small cup of frozen yogurt as she studied the nutrition facts mounted on the wall behind Lucas's head, hair pulled up into a tight ponytail and dressed in the most casual outfit that Lucas had ever seen her in-a pair of leggings with a sweatshirt and Converse sneakers.

He had been just as surprised as anybody else could be when he had entered the establishment to find the girl sitting there, talking with Zay as though it were normal. The look he had given Zay when he had greeted them showed that he wanted an explanation, but Lucas had yet to receive an explanation for her presence there, which bothered him, because Smackle seemed to be completely aware of his presence there. Which meant, Lucas was sure, that Smackle knew exactly why Lucas was there.

And the last thing that Lucas needed was for too many people to be aware of his situation. He didn't want it getting around the school, which was why he had been trusting Zay with the secret.

Clearly, though, now there was a third party in on this, and if Lucas knew anything about secrets, it was that three could only keep if a secret if two of them were dead.

* * *

 _He's the thorn in my flesh that I can't take out  
He's stealing my breath when you're around  
And now you're trying to convince me  
He wasn't worth it-but you can't complete me_

Smackle knew exactly what Lucas was there for.

He wanted Zay to help him win Maya's heart. And he had gone to Zay because Zay was the only member of the former six clique who still spoke to any of the other members. Maya may have started to talk to Lucas again and Farkle and Smackle may have had whatever it was that they had, but none of them interacted with too many of their former friends. That just wasn't the way that they operated and it never had been.

Not since the blowout between Riley and Maya. Not since the girls had told Farkle off, causing Smackle to lose her placement in the group. Not since Lucas had lost his cool on Riley for treating Maya in such a way, and not since they had given Zay the cold shoulder as though he had played any sort of a role in the situation.

The six clique was long gone and nobody could put the pieces back together. All that was left to be done was a little bit of damage control for the pieces that were still in tact.

Maya and Lucas were meant to be together. That relationship could be fixed. Whether it was their friendship or their romantic relationship, they needed one another. They needed to be together and they had to depend on one another. That needed to be fixed, because right now, they were nowhere near what they were supposed to be.

Zay would fix that, because that was what he did. He was a fixer. He helped people, because that was the type of guy that he was. He wanted to make sure that everybody else in his life was happy, because that was the only way that he would ever be able to be happy himself. So, he strived to make sure that the people he cared about were able to be content with their life.

Farkle needed _somebody._ It didn't matter if that somebody was Riley or Smackle. He needed somebody. It could even be Maya, but she was off the table for him. She belonged to Lucas, in some way. There wasn't room for her to have both boys. Not in any feasible way. So, Farkle needed either Riley or Smackle, and it was Zay's job to make sure that one of them was there to take care of Farkle. Since Smackle seemed to be the only one who was concerned about Farkle, she assumed that Zay was going to have to make sure that whatever plan he had involved pushing Smackle and Farkle together, enforcing the fact that Farkle needed Smackle in his life.

And Zay? He just needed to strengthen the ties with his former friends. He needed to make sure that they needed him, because when he didn't feel needed, he felt useless. He felt lost and confused. So, somebody had to make him feel needed.

"Will somebody explain to me what Smackle is doing here?" Lucas blurted out, breaking through the silence that had been present at the table ever since the trio had arrived there, sitting tensely as though they weren't sure what to say to one another or who should start the conversation. "Because I'm confused, and contrary to popular belief, I'm not used to being confused, nor do I enjoy it," Lucas replied, staring between Smackle, the school nerd, and Zay, the class clown.

"She needs a favor, the same as you," Zay shrugged.

"What's her favor?" Lucas wondered, eyeing Smackle suspiciously. "And what's it got to do with me?"

Smackle could understand his hesitation to trust her. After all, the only relationship Lucas had ever had with Smackle had consisted of her flirting with him, despite her budding romance with Farkle. They had never gotten all that close and he didn't really know anything about her.

To have her there, when he was talking to Zay about something that he was clearly vulnerable about, had to be hard on him. It was like trusting his most sacred secret with a complete stranger.

Besides, Smackle owed him nothing and had no reason to keep his secrets. She had every reason, however, to use his secrets against him. She could take what she learned at that meeting and use it for her benefit, gaining a social status far beyond what seemed obtainable for her. She could use it to cease being a geek, and become one of the glamorous, popular girls.

She didn't care about that, though. Lucas didn't know it, but she didn't care and she had more important things to worry about. Far more important things.

"I want Farkle," Smackle declared, crossing her arms over her chest. "I want him to stop fawning over Riley and Maya, and to realize that he has everything he needs and wants, right in front of his face," she stated.

"He doesn't already know that?" Lucas frowned. 'He was sucking your face at Maya's party last night," he pointed out.

"And today at the mall, he completely zoned out in the middle of a conversation we were having on our date to gawk at Riley and Maya. All because they were together and he couldn't figure out why," Smackle rolled her eyes.

"He's still got a crush on the two of them?" Lucas chuckled, leaning back in his seat.

"He's always going to have a crush on the two of them and he's never going to get over them. He loves them both equally, though, and he's never going to pick one over the other," Zay explained.

"So, he needs somebody else. But, I'm not going to be the consolation prize. It's either me, or it's his fantasy of them," Smackle shrugged.

"Well, I want-"

"You want Maya," Smackle cut him off. "I know. We all know. Everybody at school knows, because you've always wanted Maya. But, you don't want this princess version of Maya. You want the Maya Hart who gets you all hot and bothered when she makes fun of you and gets too close in the firelight," Smackle explained as though it were the most obvious and redundant thing in the world.

"How do you know-wait, how do you know about the camp fire?"

"Really, Lucas? _Everybody_ knows about what happened at the campfire," Smackle replied with a smug smile on her face.

"The entire eighth grade class was obsessed with the drama that was you, Riley and Maya," Zay observed.

"That's why it hit Riley so hard when she got to high school and nobody cared about her and her life anymore. She wasn't used to being ignored and she definitely wasn't used to everybody caring about her and her life. She thought she was a king and she thought she was going to continue to own the world. It was a rude awakening for her," Smackle concluded.

"And now Maya's the queen and everybody cared about her and her life," Lucas said, an admiring smile on his face as he talked about the blonde.

"And that kills Riley more than anything," Smackle shrugged.

"Lucas," Zay sighed. "I don't know what you want me to do to help you wish this mess. Last I checked, Maya was giving Riley a makeover to try to get you to fall for Riley," Zay frowned, turning back to the task at hand.

"Yeah, I know all about that. It was my idea," Lucas shrugged.

"Why would you have Maya try to get you with Riley if you want to be with Riley? Doesn't that defeat the purpose and put you right back where you guys were freshman year?" Smackle frowned.

"No," Zay smirked. "It's brilliant, because it gives Maya the revenge that she always wanted against Riley. Lucas is gonna reject her and humiliate her, while increasing Maya's popularity by declaring his feelings for her," he stated.

"And there's my part two," Lucas nodded, grateful for his friend for coming up with the perfect second part of his plan.

"And Riley can't say anything about Maya after that, because it's going to look spiteful. Maya's going to have immunity for the rest of her high school career after this, because if a bad word is published about her, it just reflects back to Riley and it doesn't look good for her," Smackle explained further, connecting the dots to the plan.

"So, why do you need me?" Zay wondered.

"Because I know how to get it out there that I like her. I've got a grand gesture that she's gonna love. What I don't have-"

"-Is a way to convince her that giving up her relationship with Josh to be with you isn't going to ruin her reputation and take away her status," Smackle finished for him, a smug look on her face for understanding everything that was going on around her, despite the brief and scattered summary of events.

"That's easy," Zay shrugged. "You just gotta paint Josh out to be a bad boyfriend," he smirked.

"That's easier said than done," Smackle snorted. "He's pretty perfect and it's pretty obvious to everybody that the guy's head over heels in love with Maya. He's _crazy_ about her," she reminded the boys.

"You know…I think I figured out a way to help the both of you," Zay smirked.

"How do you figure that?" Smackle wondered.

"It's a little crazy," Zay warned them.

"I'm willing to try anything. I've let too much time pass by," Lucas sighed.

* * *

 _And you're sitting in the front row, wanna be first in line  
Waiting by my window, giving me all your time  
You could be my hero, if only I could let go  
But his love is still in my like a broken arrow_

Zay had an ulterior motive.

Nobody knew it, but he had his reasons for helping Lucas and Smackle.

He had another plan, that worked for his own benefit. However, Lucas and Smackle were just pieces of his plan. He needed Riley and Farkle, as well as Maya, for his plan to truly work. If he was going to get the result that he wanted, he needed all of his former friends to come to him for help.

It hadn't taken any work on his own part for Smackle and Lucas to come running to him for help. But, to get the other three to want his help? That was going to take some planning and he was going to have to do some work to make it happen.

Of course, he had all of that figured out as well.

Zay always had a plan. He knew what to do and how to do it best. That was what he did-he had an idea and he made plans.

The first person that he was going to get on his side was Farkle.

He'd give Smackle the little makeover that she wanted. He would encourage Lucas to help him infiltrate Smackle into their group. And then he would unleash his master plan, sending Smackle after Josh.

Farkle would get jealous, of course, and immediately come running to Zay, demanding an explanation. Maya would come shortly after, wanting some sort of cover-up to save face, with her boyfriend humiliating her with flirting, or more, with the newcomer to the popular crowd.

Then, he would work his magic on the two of them.

Riley was the hard one.

She was the one who was going to cause some problems for him.

Because he didn't know what her angle was and he didn't know anything about this new person that she had become. He didn't particularly like this new version of her either, but he wanted his old friend back and that meant that he had to figure out a way to get through to her. He needed to work his magic and get Smiley Riley back.

If he failed in getting her back, it meant that he failed in getting his friends back. And he couldn't stand the thought of failing when it came to something this important. His friends meant the world to him and they always had. So, he needed to get them back. Every single one of them, or else he was going to finish high school with nothing to remember it by. Nothing special would have happened, because he had nobody by his side to make memories with.

He'd be forced to go onto college with nobody by his side to act as a tie to his youth. And he didn't want that.

And he knew that none of his former friends wanted that either.

Maybe it was wrong, when they all had their own lives now, to try to put them back together. Maybe it was unfair, when they all seemed so content with the lives they had made for themselves, to swoop in and force them into an old friendship.

But, he was convinced that this was for the best. This needed to be done, because they couldn't end the way that they did. They at least had to come together to end the hostility. He couldn't allow them to end with Riley having said those things to Maya or with Maya leaving Riley on her own.

He couldn't let Riley's last few memories of Lucas be of him calling her the names he had called her in that last blowout and he refused to let Farkle continue to love those two girls, thinking that they thought those horrible things about him. And he wasn't going to let Smackle go on believing that she wasn't welcome into the group without Farkle there.

And, on his own part, he wasn't going to leave high school with the people that he cared the most about hating one another and thinking so negatively of one another. Not when he knew how much they all meant to one another and not when he knew the truth behind the entire mess that had happened freshman year.

Zay was going to fix everything. He was going to make sure of it.

That was his role, after all.

Farkle was the loyal one. Riley was the sweet one. Smackle was the brain behind the operation and Lucas was the moral compass. Maya was the trouble maker. And Zay was the fixer.

They hadn't asked for their roles and they didn't have any control over it. But, they had been assigned their roles a long time ago and they had to play them out. Everybody else got to enjoy a nice break from their designated role with all that was going on, but Zay's role? His part could still be played, even when they weren't in a group. Even when their group was torn apart, Zay was supposed to be working to put the pieces back together.


	9. Taking Chances

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 8: Taking Chances**

 _ **A/N: I'm going to update I Write Sins and then my song-fics series before I do anything more with this story or I Want You To Want Me, just so I can get a feel for where I am in all of my stories again. I'm working pretty much every week day until I head back to school and when I'm not working I'm doing last minute things before move-in day comes around again, so my updates are going to be pretty all over the place for a while. I want to thank you now for baring with me through it. I can't promise how often I'll update when the semester starts, but I'll try my best for you guys because you are the best readers in the world. I get so excited to see your reviews so I promise to try my hardest not to disappear on you all.**_

* * *

 _But what do you say to taking chances?  
What do you say to jumping off the edge?  
Never knowing if there's solid ground below  
Or a hand to hold or hell to pay?_

"Ow! Stop it! You're _hurting_ me! Is all of this really necessary?"

Maya had had enough of listening to Riley's complaining. After all, the blonde had woken up an hour early so that she could shower and get ready before Riley awake and showered. That way, she could devote her morning to making sure that the brunette look amazing for her first day as a member of the IT-Crowd.

And, for Maya to have managed to still look absolutely flawless after having gotten up at five thirty in the morning and allow herself to be in a good mood, it was a rare thing. It was ridiculous for Riley to be pushing her so far in the opposite direction when she was doing so much to try top help her out.

"Yeah, it is," Maya rolled her denim blue eyes. "Go check yourself out. It's all done now, and I think you'll think that it's totally worth it," she smirked as she stepped back, smoothing out her short, maroon, pleated mini skirt, adjusting it so that it settled right in the middle of her thighs, showing off her long, toned legs.

She had paired the skirt with a tan, swoop neck, cropped tee shirt and matching tan leather high heeled combat boots with a thick, wooden heel. A tan leather bag was waiting for her at the foot of her bed and she had pulled back her buttery blonde curls with a maroon headband. Her golden cross M-initial necklace swung around her neck and her purity ring glistened in the lights of her bedroom, drawing the attention right to it and reminding her of the conversation that she needed to have with Josh about his dirty little secret that had been common knowledge to everybody but herself.

Riley rose to her feet, cautiously making her way towards Mayas full length mirror as she attempted to balance in her high, yellow wedged sandals with the cork-soles. They were slightly plat formed which made it just a little bit easier to walk in but they were still about two inches taller than Riley was used to walking in and she was struggling to move. Maya could have given her a shorter pair of heels to make it easier on her, but she was enjoying the scene. She figured she was owed just a little bit of amusement after all she had gone through to get Riley read for her debut.

It had taken an hour, but Riley was standing tall and proud in a bright yellow sun dress with a deep V and a criss-cross back. The straps were thin and it pleated out around her legs, ending just a few inches below her butt. Her dark chocolate, feathered, pin-straight mane hung thick down her back and Maya had fluffed out her bangs and teased them, giving them a slightly edgy look. Her makeup was minimal and sparkly, emphasizing her features. And the smile on her face as she took in her reflection only added to the wonder.

"You did good, blondie," Missy whistled as she entered the bedroom.

The sound of her black, high heeled Mary-Jane's clacking against the hard wood floor announced her arrival and emphasized every muscle in her strong, curved legs. A black and green, plaid a-line skirt hugged the curves in her waist and hips and her black haltered crop top emphasized the size of her full chest. Her green, leather bucket bag was swung over her shoulder, signaling that she was ready for them to leave.

"You need a head band!" Maya insisted, grabbing her purse and yanking an emerald green, silky headband from the hooks where she hung all of her own.

She tossed it towards Missy and gathered her things. When she glanced at her brunette best friend against she saw the dark green material placed perfectly in her chestnut colored locks and emphasizing the green in her eyes. She nodded once in approval and then started out of her bedroom, signaling for Riley to follow after her. She was ready for them to make their grand entrance at school, and she wasn't going to allow anything to stand in her way of everything going perfectly according to her plans.

Darby was waiting for them on the couch, watching ESPN on the flatscreen mounted on the wall, with her electric blue leather bag tossed on the floor at her royal blue, canvas TOMS covered feet. A denim, patchwork mini skirt and a royal blue, cropped, short sleeve top finished off her simple yet trendy outfit and her blonde hair was sculpted into a sky-high ponytail with a braid around the hair-tie.

"We look _perfect,"_ Maya grinned as her fellow blonde leapt from the couch, turning off the TV and gathering up her things. "Coffee run before school? I'm feeling some pastries for breakfast," she said thoughtfully as the girls fell into formation.

Maya at the head of the group, with Missy to her right and Darby to her left. Riley stood directly behind Maya, off of the inside shoulders of the other two popular girls, creating a diamond formation as the girls walked.

It had taken a lot of work to explain the group's dynamic to Riley. In fact, it had taken more effort to explain how she would be expected to act than it had taken for the girls to give her the makeover. And, hearing the way that she had complained all morning while Maya had plucked her eyebrows and applied her makeup and styled her hair, it was hard to believe that anything could have been harder for her to understand.

But, it didn't matter. They just had to get through another week and a half and it would be enough time for it to be believable that Riley had caught Lucas's eye and he had been able to turn her into another one of his conquests before sending her away, breaking her heart in the process. And then, Maya and her friends would be free of the popularity leech that was Riley Matthews.

Once they were free of her, everything would be back to normal.

At least, back to normal on the surface.

Then, Maya was going to be able to really think about her feelings. She would be able to discuss everything with her friends and get some advice about what to do about the newly developing Lucas-Josh-Maya triangle that was forming around her. Because, until she had some advice from Missy and Darby, she was going to be at a loss as to what to do. It just didn't make sense to her, because she had started a relationship with Josh in order to get over the fact that she and Lucas were never going to be together.

He hadn't picked her, because he didn't want her. He had been ready to pick Riley, or just let both of the girls sit there and wait around for him to make a decision between them. It was pathetic and Maya hated herself for having acted in such a way. She had seemed desperate and if there was one thing that Maya Hart didn't do, it was appear as though she was pathetic or desperate in any way, shape, or form.

Fawning over Lucas wasn't something that the new, perfect, queen of everything Maya Hart allowed herself to do. It wasn't sophisticated and it ruined her perfect reputation. She was the girl who had boys throwing themselves at her feet while she relished in the attention.

She dated the king of the high school and she was content with that because he gave her all of the attention in the world and she didn't have to look like some sort of idiot who loved him more than he loved her. Instead, he made sure everybody knew that he was beyond lucky for dating the gorgeous blonde. And that was how Maya liked it.

That was exactly how she wanted it to stay.

But, he was Lucas and he was special. It was damn near impossible to push him aside when she knew that he wanted to be with her. Because a part of her had always loved him and a part of her always would love him.

If she never gave him a chance, she was going to end up living the rest of her life wondering "what if" she had finally given him a chance. What would have happened if she had just stopped worrying about what everybody else wanted or expected of her and allowed herself to experience happiness.

She would never be able to shake off that feeling, and it was an internal debate that would drive her insane to try to convince herself to be with him, not knowing what would happen next. She was terrified of taking chances, but maybe-just maybe-Lucas was worth any of the risks?

"I, uh, don't really have any cash on-"

"Riley," Missy rolled her eyes, cutting off the dark haired girl as they crowded into the elevator together. "Don't worry about the cost. We've got it covered," she smirked, pressing a perfectly manicured finger against the LOBBY button on the elevator.

"But you guys don't have to-"

" _Riley,"_ Darby giggled, leaning back against the mirrored wall of the elevator behind her and crossing her arms. "Nobody is going to be spending any money on you for this breakfast. I _promise,"_ Darby grinned mischievously as the elevator stopped at the floor below Maya.

"Fuck," Missy muttered, rolling her eyes as the doors opened and tall, lanky, Farkle Minkus stood in the doorframe with his backpack slung over his shoulder, eyes widening at the four teenage girls standing inside.

"I'll, uh, just wait and take the next-"

"There's no reason for that," Maya shook her head, taking a step back and leaning against the wall besides Darby. "We're all heading to the same place," she shrugged.

"Might as well come on in," Missy said, flashing her chesire-cat-like grin as she swung out her arm, keeping the doors from closing before the boy had a chance to enter the tiny, cube shaped room.

"The more the merrier," Darby said cheerfully.

"Uh, okay?" Farkle shrugged, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he cautiously stepped onto the elevator, awkwardly standing in the front corner with his eyes locked on the floor.

"How's your relationship with Smackle?" Maya wondered, the words flying out of her mouth before she could even think about it.

She didn't know why she had asked. She didn't even really care. But, she had felt like she had to ask him, because she felt like she owed him some sort of conversation on the short ride they'd be taking down to the lobby together.

"Oh, uh… yeah, I don't really think that's a thing anymore," Farkle shrugged, reaching up to run a hand through his hair.

"What happened?' Riley blurted, concern written all over her face as her gaze locked on Farkle's, their eyes meeting one another's. "Are you okay?" she whispered, lowering her dark eyes away from his sparkling ones and staring at the carpeted ground below her.

"It just… it didn't work out," Farkle shook his head. "There's nothing-"

He was interrupted by the doors sliding open and a look of relief flooded his face. As soon as the doors were parted enough for him to slip through, he was sprinting out of the elevator and towards the front doors of the hotel lobby, off to the waiting town car that would be taking him to school, the same way it did every day.

"What was _that_ about?" Missy cocked an eyebrow, stalking out of the elevator.

"It was awkward," Maya shrugged, shaking the incident off. "I felt like I had to say _something,"_ she replied, pushing from the wall and following after her best friend.

"I can't believe that happened. He's _never_ leaving at the same time as us," Darby observed, following after her friends. "I don't blame you guys for being weird out," she shrugged.

But, Maya and Riley shared a look and they both knew that they hadn't asked Farkle those questions of concern just because of the awkwardness that had been evident in the elevator. They had asked him because they cared, because they missed their best friend. They missed the boy that they had always had in their lives. The boy who had always loved them both so strongly. And they still felt a desire to protect him. It was all that they had ever wanted-to make sure that Farkle stayed as uniquely strange as he had always been.

It had never been clear to them before, because they had never had an occasion where all three of them were together in such close quarters before. When Maya and Riley were reunited, to the point where they almost seemed to be back to their old selves, adding Farkle to the mix sparked all of those old feelings.

Their friendship seemed like it should be so natural to piece back together. It had seemed like it could have just fallen right back into place.

But, after what had happened in that elevator ride, it was clear to Maya that things could never be the same. And it was never going to be easy for them. There would always be a little bit of tension and there would always be some hostility. They would always be just a little bit bitter about the fact that neither one of them had tried to save their friendship in the years that had passed.

Things were awkward and things were ruined. They had their new lives now and it was time that they fully accepted that. Maya was the popular queen and her best friends were Missy and Darby. She was dating Josh. Lucas was the bad boy, and Maya was allowed to socialize with him because their crowds often mixed. Zay was allowed to be a part of Maya's life, because he was friends with Josh and that made him an acceptable acquaintance.

Riley was the invisible girl. She spent her life on the outskirts of the social climate of Abigail Adams High School, because she preferred it that way. It helped her be the journalist that she had always fought so hard to become. She didn't play a part in anybody's life anymore, except for when Maya had to socialize with her, because she was the twin sister to Maya's loving boyfriend.

And Farkle was the school's biggest nerd. He didn't get bullied because Lucas, Zay and Josh made sure of it. Instead, they focused on the fact that he could get their homework done for them and keep their State Championship winning team in tact by keeping their grades at at least a C-average.

Maya could take a risk to try and put her old life back together, but why should she bother? Why should she put in that kind of work for something so risky?

* * *

 _I just want to start again  
And maybe you could show me how to try  
And maybe you could take me in  
Somewhere underneath your skin_

Riley followed after the scantily dressed beauties guiding her. She knew that she was now a member of the scantily clad girls, but she wouldn't dare to label herself with the same adjective as she gave to Darby, Missy and Maya. Because they were gorgeous in every single way imaginable. Darby was the classic beauty and Missy was the uniquely beauty and Maya was the all-American beauty. There wasn't room for Riley in their group dynamic and she was waiting for the day when they realized it as well.

That, or the day when they finally decided to let Riley in on whatever elaborate joke they were pulling on her. This entire thing being a prank would make so much more sense then the popular girls actually deciding to turn over a new leaf and befriend Riley. Because they had never once shown remorse before, for anything that they had done. And they had done some pretty awful things to people who were far less deserving that Riley had been for what they had done to her.

"I don't get how you guys are gonna manage to pay for all of this without spending money on me," Riley whispered, forcing her way between Missy and Darby.

It was sort of a slap in the face, to hear that Maya was now the financially well off one. Sure, Riley came from a financially stable family, but she was on a budget. Her parents only allotted her so much of her allowance to actually spend. The rest went into her savings and she had already dipped into her savings the night before when she was out shopping. She couldn't keep on recklessly blowing through her savings, though.

Maya, however, didn't even come close to living on a budget. Shawn was so well off that Maya had more than enough money to blow. Her college fund had more money in it than Riley's savings account and Maya's savings account was double what Riley's was. And then she had her credit card, and she could use her debit card connected to her savings whenever she wanted, because if she ever came close to running low, Shawn just added to the account for her.

If Maya had told Riley that she was going to treat for breakfast, because she owed her one after all of their years of friendship, Riley would have been okay with that. That way, she wouldn't feel so useless.

But, Missy and Darby had been the ones to reassure her that her wallet was safe. And that only confused Riley as she tried to figure out what their plan was. Because, if they were going to get her into trouble, that would be the worst type of a prank they could pull on her. But, she wasn't sure what they would really get out of the deal.

"I told you," Missy smirked, shooting Riley a devious look. "We've got it covered."

"Seriously, we never pay at this Starbucks," Darby told Riley in a low whisper. "Because we know exactly how to get out of it," she explained.

"What are you talking about?" Riley frowned, biting down on her bottom lip nervously.

"Watch and learn," Maya smirked, flipping her blonde curls over her shoulder and bouncing over to the counter, hips swaying with every step and head held up high.

"What can I get ya, Maya?" The boy behind the counter asked.

He looked to be about college age, and was tall and lanky. He wasn't necessarily _bad_ looking, but compared to the guys that Maya had always had throwing themselves at him, he wasn't anything special. He had a head full of thick, dark chocolate curls cut short to his head and reminding Riley of Nick Jonas's hairstyle back in the _Camp Rock_ days. He had smooth, milky skin and a long, oval face with a pointed thin. His nose was narrow and small, matching the perfectly sculpted facial features. He had full, pouty lips that Riley envied to no end and his eyes were a bright, emerald shade of green that anybody in the world would be drawn to. And those shocking eyes lit up as soon as he saw Maya approaching the counter.

" _Hey,_ Taylor," Maya said cheerfully, leaning against the counter and Riley could just imagine the way her cleaving was probably bulging out of her shirt, threatening to spill right over its constraints.

"You got a new friend?" he asked, glancing over Maya's shoulder and taking in each of the other girls, nervously licking his lips.

"Oh, yeah! Her name's Riley," Maya said, waving her hand to dismiss the question. "Anyways. We're celebrating this morning! So, can we get a venti white chocolate mocha Frappuccino for Darbs," Maya began, as Darby waved flirtatiously, winking a baby blue eye at the blushing barista.

"Of course," he said, grabbing a cup and scribbling onto the plastic. "What else?"

"A venti cinnamon dolce lite Frappuccino for Missy," Maya smirked as Missy placed a hand on her hip and stuck one leg out, posing like the model she should be, and blew a kiss in the direction of the barista.

"Yeah," he gulped, fumbling with the cup as he tried to scribble something onto the other one.

"A venti cupcake crème Frappuccino for my new friend Riley," Maya went on.

Missy's elbow crashed into Riley's gut and she looked at her in confusion, before realizing that she was supposed to do _something_ to give this boy some sort of attention. Sheepishly, she ran a hand through her hair, twirling the ends around her fingertips as she looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, a shy smile on her face. Missy shot her a discrete thumbs up as the boy worked on scribbling across the third cup, turning his attention back to the blonde haired beauty at the counter.

"And a venti espresso Frappuccino for _moi,"_ Maya said, biting down on her bottom lip as she placed her arms on the counter, leaning further across it. "And we're gonna get some food, too-because the smell of your cologne has me _famished,"_ she sighed.

"It's, uh…. It's Hollister," Taylor said, reaching to scratch behind his neck, at the base of his hairline.

"Well, I _love_ it!" Maya gushed.

"What else do you guys need today?" he wondered, flashing her a smile that made Riley understand why the girls had so much fun flirting with him.

"A fresh blueberries and honey greek yogurt parfait for that leggy blonde behind me," Maya nodded back towards Darby. "A spinach feta and cage free egg white breakfast wrap for Missy, a chocolate chip muffin for Riley and an everything bagel with cheese for me," Maya fired off.

"I'll get that right in," Taylor winked at her.

Maya giggled and Riley could tell that it was from the adorable college boy giving her so much attention. The blonde slowly reached for her purse, pulling out her wallet and pulling it open with a sheepish grin.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing at all," Taylor said, waving it off. "This one's on me-you're celebrating, aren't you?" he grinned.

"Awe, Taylor, you're the _sweetest!"_ Maya gushed, throwing her wallet back into her purse and shooting upright from the counter. She bounced onto her tip-toes and pressed her glossy lips against his cheek.

"Anything for you, Maya," he said, face flushing red as the girls made their way towards the counter to wait for their order.

"See?" Missy hissed into Riley's ear as they walked. "When you look like we do, you don't need to pay for something as mundane as _coffee_ because cute boys are going to do anything for a little bit of attention from girls who look like we do," she explained.

"I thought only nerdy guys did stuff like that," Riley frowned.

"That's in the movies. All guys like attention. Especially when it's coming from Maya," Missy said proudly.

"You guys get free coffee every day?" Riley wondered.

"Maya usually insists on paying instead of letting Taylor cover it, but today she thought she'd teach you how to use your magic. It's just fun to get him to offer," Darby explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"And this kind of stuff happens to you all the time?" Riley whispered.

"Riley," Missy laughed. "When you look like us and you _know_ that you look as good as we always look, it's impossible for people not to notice. And when people see it, they want a little taste of it for themselves. So? They shower you in free stuff. Wait until the next time we hit up the mall. We'll show you our secret to always looking so trendy," she explained.

"I thought it was just because you guys were rich?" Riley frowned.

"She's so cute!" Missy laughed, throwing her head back.

"I vote that we show her tonight," Darby said cheerfully. "I'll even call into work at the shelter, because I wanna see the look on her face!"

Riley found it hard to believe that these girls just seemed to get so many things handed to them just because they knew how to flirt. They knew how to be confident and play up their good looks. And they didn't do it just to get free things. They did it because it was _fun_ and because it validated what they already knew.

She had always known that life was easier for those who were better looking, but she had never thought to imagine that life was even easier when people knew that they were good looking.

But, she was sure that she would never be able to act in such a way. She didn't know how to flirt and she had no idea how to be so confident when she wasn't surrounded by girls who looked like Darby and Missy. Girls who looked like they had just walked right off of the glossy pages of a fashion magazine. Girls who looked like Maya, as though they should be parading around a runway during fashion week, rather than strolling the halls of Abigail Adams High School.

Riley had always hated these girls, thinking that they walked around and though that things should be handed to them merely because they felt entitled. But, the reality was, the world had taught them to feel that way. They had been given whatever they wanted in life, and so they had developed a mindset that things were supposed to be that way.

And, Missy wasn't telling Riley that things would only be like this for her if she stuck around with them. She was insisting that when people looked like any of those four girls, they had the world at the feet, because fortune favored the beautiful. And Riley, according to Missy, who was sparse with her compliments, was one of those lucky few who could be considered beautiful. And she loved it. She loved the feeling she got from knowing that other people thought she was beautiful. From feeling as though she could actually fit in, rather than fearing that she always stuck out like a sore thumb.

Which was why Riley started to develop a new plan. She no longer wanted to break these girls. She wanted to belong with them. She wanted to be their best friend and she was going to do whatever it took to make sure that she was accepted by them. It was a risky move, but it was about time that Riley started to take some chances in her life.

All she had to do was hope that whatever ulterior motive Maya and her friends had would take some time to play out, so that Riley could weasel her way into the group of friends. And she already knew exactly how she was going to start earning her place in the Unholy Trinity, turning it into a Fierce Foursome.

What she wasn't so sure about was how she was going to earn a place on the cheerleading team, because that was the final step to truly belonging with the popular girls.

* * *

 _And I had my heart beating down, but I always come back for more  
There's nothing like love to pull you up when you're lying there on the floor  
So, talk to me-talk to me like lovers do, yeah  
Walk with me, walk with me like lovers do-like lovers do_

Smackle was taking a big risk and she knew it.

She was going to be going into the lion's den and provoking it to attack. And she knew that when Maya Hart was the lion in question, it meant that that same lion would be lying low in the weeds, waiting for the perfect moment to attack the gazelle.

And it would feel better if she was at least dressed a little bit more like herself. But, instead, she was dressed in an outfit that Zay had assembled for her that showed far more skin than she was comfortable with and hugged her curves far more than she ever would have allowed something she had picked out for herself.

Trying to discreetly tug down the hemline of her short, brown cotton pleated skirt without creating a wider streak of bare stomach between the skirt and the bottom of her cropped, olive green tee shirt with the caged bag, she made her way through the crowded hallways with her block, olive green, laced combat heels clanking with every step.

She hadn't seen Maya or any of her little minions yet which gave her a little bit of hope. If she didn't have to worry about the wrath of Maya Hart immediately following the plan that Zay and Lucas had laid out for her, she could force herself to do what she had to do. But, if she knew that they were anywhere near her, she would completely lose it.

Sighing, she approached the dark haired, handsome boy standing at his locker and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah?"

Joshua Matthews turned around to face Smackle with excitement on his face. Excitement that immediately faded into confusion and then annoyance as he studied her. Smackle, meanwhile, attempted to hide her pleasure at taking in Josh's good looks from such a close proximity.

She had always known that he was good looking, but she had never realized just how good looking he was until she was standing so close to him. And it caused her to completely lose her train of thought, which was something that had never happened to her before in her life. She didn't know what to say to him without sounding like a complete and total idiot.

"Can I help you with something? Are you new? You lost?" he wondered, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I-uh…well, I-"

"JOSH!"

Maya's excited voice cut through the hallways and stopped Smackle from further humiliating herself.

"I got to go-but, like, welcome and all that," Josh shrugged, rolling his eyes the freak standing before him and hurrying off.

Smackle sighed as his locker slammed shut in her face. There was no way that she was ever going to be able to make this plan work. Not when Josh looked so inhumanly perfect and not when Maya had such a hold over him. It was simply too big of a risk to take.


	10. Secrets

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A Girl Meets World AU Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 9: Secrets**

 _ **A/N: Okay, so I move in on Wednesday meaning these next four days are going to be mega hectic with seeing everybody I need to see one more time and running last minute errands and the whole moving in process. But, then I have a few days before everybody else arrives on campus and classes start, where all I have is job training so my updates will probably continue to be scattered until after Wednesday but then you'll have some pretty decent updates before classes start and I have to figure out a schedule for updates. Love you all and thanks so much for the patience!**_

* * *

 _This time, don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics ever jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

"What was Isa-bora Smackle trying to talk to you about?" Missy made a face as Josh approached the quartet of girls at Maya's locker that morning.

"Is that who that was? That weird girl you used to hang out with in middle school? She was dating Farkle or something, wasn't she?" Josh wondered, wrapping his arms around Maya's waist from behind, resting his head on her shoulder as she worked on emptying her bag and loading up the books she'd need for her first few classes of the day.

"Yeah," Maya rolled her eyes. "But, she's not dating Farkle anymore and from the looks of it, she's not that weird anymore," she muttered.

"Are you jealous? Of that nerd?" Josh laughed, his breath hot as it landed directly in Maya's ear, sending a shiver down her spine at the contact.

"She's jealous, all right-but not of Smackle," Darby snickered from her own locker, on the opposite side of Maya from where Missy was positioned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Josh asked, and Maya could feel him tense up, which meant that he had a pretty good idea what Darby was going on about, and that just further frustrated Maya.

What bothered her even more was the fact that Riley was still there and was going to hear all about Maya's relationship problems. And Riley probably knew all about Josh's sex life from their freshman year, because she was, after all, his sister and had a habit of eavesdropping. And with everything Riley probably already knew about Maya's relationship with Josh, she didn't need to know this additional issue.

Riley didn't need any sort of blackmail that she could use to hold over Maya. As soon as Lucas's plan was over, Maya was done with this game. She had learned her lesson that morning in the elevator with Farkle.

Things were never going to be the same for the former Six Clique. Their friendship was over and they were better off apart. So, they were apart and they were living their own separate lives now. It was better that way. It had to be that way, because they had their own lives now and it had been far too long.

Besides, Maya couldn't go on getting her hopes up that she and Riley could rekindle their friendship. It was never going to happen and Maya needed to make sure that no tighter ties were made between the two girls.

"She knows about Jenkins, asshole," Missy snapped, slamming her locker shut and whirling around to glare at her best friend's boyfriend, arms crossed over her chest as she leaned up against the metal door.

"What?" Josh's arms dropped from around her and she could feel the distance grow between them as he took a step back. "What are you talking about? Maya, what's going on?"

Maya slammed her locker shut, swinging her back up onto her shoulder as she whirled around on her keel, fury flooding her blue eyes. She hadn't wanted to do it this way, but if it was going to happen publically, she was going to put on a show. After all, an audience was already starting to slowly form, all acting as though they didn't care about what was happening, but trying to watch and listen all the same.

If her subjects wanted a show, well she was going to give them the best damn show she could muster up. She would make a scene, all right.

Only, she wouldn't.

She _couldn't_ because that wasn't what perfect girls like this new version of Maya did.

Instead, she would be polite and sweet. She would be honest and pure. She'd be quiet and tame and she would act like her heart wasn't breaking. She would act like she wasn't ready to tear Josh's heart out of his chest and stomp on it the way that he had done with her own, by lying to her and acting as though her first time would be _his_ first time, making their relationship all the more special and strengthening their bond.

Missy was aloud to give her snarky comments and encourage Maya to be feisty, but she wasn't one to make a public scene either. Darby was the vocalized one. She was the one who threw a bitch fit and drew attention to everything, but not when it came to her friend's personal lives.

Riley, however, didn't know the rules. She didn't know that she was supposed to sit there quietly.

She actually ended up losing her cool and acting as though she and Maya still had the friendship that they had had back in middle school. The friendship that had always seemed to unbreakable and that everybody had always been jealous of.

No, Riley didn't sit there quietly like the rest of Maya's friends. Instead, she absolutely lost her cool and blew her top.

"You didn't _tell_ her? You never told her that you hooked up with _Jenkins_ right before you and her got together? How could you not _tell_ her that? You _promised_ me that you would tell her _everything._ What? Did you just let her believe that you were a virgin or something?"

Her voice rose in volume as she stormed towards him, pointing a finger in her twin brother's face and backing him up into the wall between the two rows of lockers, almost threatening to push him from the large window in the little alcove their lockers were located in. Her eyes were narrowed and her mouth was a straight, emotionless line.

"Why do you even care? It's not like you guys are friends," Josh rolled his eyes. "She just pities you. She feels bad that you're so pathetic," Josh snorted.

"It doesn't _matter._ She was my _best friend_ when you slept with Jenkins and when you decided that Maya was more than just your little sister's best friend, you promised me that you would tell her. You _swore,"_ Riley glared.

"So what? She was stupid enough to believe that _I_ was a virgin," Josh said, flashing that cool guy grin that normally impressed everybody.

This time, though, it sparked _rage_ in the four girls who were standing in the hallway, watching the brunette pair of twins in their fight.

"Oh no he _didn't,"_ Missy gasped, shaking her head as a slightly amused but mostly shocked smile formed on her face, with hatred filling her eyes. "He did _not_ just call _my_ best friend _stupid."_

"Oh, I _know_ that he didn't call _my_ girl stupid. My straight-A, Honor Society, captain of the cheerleading team, ivy-league bound best friend. How _dare_ he call _her_ stupid," Darby chuckled, shaking her head as she slowly started to walk towards him, arms crossed over her chest as she walked.

"Stop," Maya said, throwing her hand out and cutting off Darby's path to Josh. "Both of you," she grabbed Missy's shoulder with her other hand, pulling her back.

"Let me at him!" Darby whined.

"No," Maya shook her head. "Let her handle it. I want to see where this goes."

"Maya isn't stupid. She's never been stupid. How could you say that about her? I know that you love her, Josh. I know that you care about her. So, why are you acting like this? Why are you acting like she doesn't mean anything to you?" Riley frowned, staring at her brother as if it were the first time she was truly seeing him.

"He's trying to maintain his image, Riles," Maya said softly. "It doesn't matter what he's feeling. He'd rather be the most popular guy in school and cast me aside like I was garbage then admit that he was wrong. That he isn't Mr. Perfect. And, you know what? If he'd rather lie to everybody, including himself, than have me….maybe he's not the guy I've been obsessed with all these years," Maya admitted.

"Maya, what are you saying?"

Josh's entire expression changed as he pushed past Riley, making his way towards Maya with hurt written all over his face. He looked like his entire world was crashing down around him, and it was the response that Maya had hoped she would get from him, but had never thought he would actually give her.

"I'm saying that if you'd rather put on this act, then you and I can't be together, because I'm not going to be in a relationship that's more about image than anything else," Maya said, trying her best to remain confident.

She was hoping that this continued to go according to her plan, but she knew better than to believe that it actually would, because her life didn't typically work out the way that she wanted it to work. That was a rarity for her. Besides, it didn't seem likely that she could keep both Matthews' siblings in her life, and after Riley racing to her defense and hearing what had sparked the brunette's anger, it seemed impossible to cast her aside again.

"Maya," Josh sighed, running a hand through his dark locks. "I want to be with you. I don't know when you stopped being Riley's best friend, but you did and that was the best realization I ever made. I _love_ you, Maya, and I can't lose you. All of this? It means _nothing_ to me if I don't have you," he explained, taking a few cautious steps towards her.

"Why didn't you tell me about Jenkins?" Maya accused, arms crossed over her chest.

"Because it didn't mean anything. If I could go back in time and change it, I would. I just…I didn't want to tell you and have you think that it meant something when it didn't. But I was wrong and I know that now," he assured her.

"No more secrets?" Maya cocked an eyebrow.

"If you'll forgive me, I swear that I'll be honest with you about everything in my life until the day that I die," he promised.

"Well, girls? What do we think?" Maya wondered, looking between her friends with a half-smile on her face.

"I say he's gotta earn your forgiveness. Maybe….a smoothie run for lunch?" Missy said thoughtfully, a smug smile on her face.

"Oh, and Insomnia cookies tonight!" Darby said excitedly. "If you don't mind us sleeping over tonight, because I know that means we're crashing at your place all week, since we always have Thursday and Friday sleepovers," she winced.

Maya shook her head, laughing off Darby's answer before turning to Riley and raising her slender eyebrows at the brunette.

"Well? What do you think? Should I forgive him, or send him packing?"

"You're asking _me?"_ Riley gasped, showing her shock to everybody around them.

"After what you just did? Riles, it doesn't matter how this mess started. You're a part of the group now," Missy stated.

"We can't cast you aside when you just defended Maya like that. It wouldn't be right. You've officially earned your place," Darby shrugged.

"So? What do you think I should do?" Maya smiled.

"I think….I think that he needs to do something _big_ to prove to you that he's still worth it. And cookies and smoothies aren't going to be enough," Riley shrugged her shoulders, shooting her brother a smug smile.

"You owe me cookies," Darby whined.

"And what do you suppose I do in the meantime?" Maya wondered.

"You're taking a break," Riley stated.

"You're seriously letting _her_ decide?" Josh gasped.

"Josh," Maya said through clenched teeth, turning her attention back towards him. "I'm not breaking up with you. We're not on a break. But, we _are_ strained right now. You _are_ on probation. If you want to go back to how we were before, I need something to big to prove to me you're worth it. If not….well, then we'll have to revisit this topic," Maya shrugged her shoulders innocently before looping her arms through Missy's and Darby's.

Darby looped her arm through Riley's and together the four girls made their way down the hallway, heading towards their first classes, leaving a dumbfounded Josh to stand there, alone in the hallway, surrounded by the rest of their confused and shocked classmates, all wondering the same thing:

 _What_ had just happened?

* * *

 _And everyday I see the news  
All the problems that we could solve  
And when a situation rises..._

When Lucas heard about what had happened that morning, he was pissed.

Not because his plan was now impossible to complete, since Riley's heart had to remain intact now that she was Maya's best friend again.

Instead, he was pissed off because Joshua Matthews had dared to call Maya Hart _stupid._ He had insulted her and he had insulted her in a public manner. He had threatened to ruin the reputation that Maya had fought so hard to earn.

And that wasn't okay. Not with Lucas, who only ever wanted the absolute happiness for his girl. And no matter what anybody else thought, Maya Hart was _his_ girl. Josh was not deserving of Maya and Lucas's new plan was to make sure that Maya realized that for herself. He just needed to figure out a new plan.

In order to come up with a new plan, though, he needed the master of plan-making. He needed the playmaker. He needed his own best friend, because Zay always knew what to do. Even when things started to stray from his original plan, he was able to piece everything back together and make things fall back into place. He was never a step ahead. Instead, he was always two or three steps ahead of everybody else.

But, before he could even think about coming up with a new plan, he had to deal with something else. He had to go and deal with his anger, before it got completely out of hand. Because, he was so angry that it was impossible for him to even try to think straight. And, there was only one way for him to clear his head when he was like this. He had to give into the anger and get it out of his system.

Which was why, as he passed by Josh in the crowded hallways on his way to third period, he reached out and grabbed his fellow football player, throwing him up against the lockers besides them and holding him there, helplessly, with his hands firmly grasping Josh's wrists, so that he was incapable of doing anything to help himself.

"What the hell, Friar? My day's been shitty enough already. I don't need you're tempter tantrums on top of it all," Josh snapped, rolling his dark eyes at Lucas, once he was able to take in the features of his Texan peer.

"You called her stupid. You insulted her. _Nobody_ does that to Maya," Lucas growled, his voice coming from the back of his throat.

"Is this about Maya? What, this is about your stupid crush on her?"

"Shut up and listen to me," Lucas said, ignoring Josh's taunts.

"Oh, this'll be good," Josh rolled his eyes. "She's never going to pick you. She's never going to _love_ you," Josh informed him.

"Shut _up,"_ Lucas said. "You insulted _my_ girl and for some odd reason she thinks you're worth a second chance. So, you know what? You're gonna prove that you're worth it. And, if you _don't,_ this is going to be just a taste of what's to come," he smirked.

"What are you on about?" Josh asked. "I'm not afraid of you, okay? I've _never_ been afraid of you and I'll _never_ be afraid of you. You won't do shit to me, because if she found out that you hurt me, she'd never consider giving you a chance. I'm untouchable, Lucas, because she actually loves me," Josh said, smirking right back.

Lucas knew that he was right. He knew that hurting Josh was going to anger Maya, but he didn't care. He didn't care if it meant losing her for good, because he barely had a chance with her as it was. So, he released one of Josh's wrists and pulled back his fist, bringing it forward to collide with Josh's perfectly shaped jawline, smirking as his lip split open, the blood starting to gush.

And with that, knowing that he had shocked Josh and made sure that Josh really _did_ start to fear him, he released his grip on Josh and smirked, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat at him smugly before he walked away, leaning Josh to stand there with his bloody lip that was sure to swell, trying to figure out how he could have been so wrong about Lucas. But, Lucas didn't care, because he was done with Josh.

At least, he was done with him for the time being. Eventually, he would get back at Josh for lying to Maya about his relationship with Jenkins, but this wasn't the right time and violence wasn't the right way. Instead, he was going to handle that situation a little bit differently. That revenge would have to wait until he had Maya for himself.

Besides, he had done enough damage for one day. Doing anything more would guarantee that Maya would never give him a fair chance. What he had done so far was just enough. He could still talk his way out of that one.

After all, Maya was a sucker for a hero. If she thought that somebody was rushing to her defense, she wouldn't be able to stay mad.

She had never been able to stay mad at Lucas at all, actually. And he loved that fact.

It was that fact that gave him hope.

* * *

 _I need another story  
Something to get off my chest  
My life gets kind of boring _

"What happened to you?"

Farkle slid into his usual seat in his AP Chemistry class, right besides Smackle at the lab table positioned in the front row on the side of the room farthest from the door. It was the best seat for anybody who actually wanted to learn, because it provided the best view of the board and put them close to the teacher's desk.

The words came out sounding a little bit harsher than he had meant them and he winced at the judgment tainting his tone. He didn't like the way that he sounded and he hated the accusation that came from the tone that he was using. It wasn't right nor was it fair of him to do to her. After all, he wasn't even sure if she was speaking to him, and he was already insulting her.

And there was no reason to be insulting her, because she looked great. She might not be dressed the way that she always dressed, in simple and casual ensembles, but she looked gorgeous all the same. Besides, this outfit showed off her curves and her amazing figure. He wanted her more than he ever had, all because of that stupid outfit.

That was what sparked his anger. The fact that she was dressed like that and he couldn't do anything about all of the other guys at school who were no doubt drooling over her.

He hadn't believed the rumors he had heard earlier that day, about how she had tried to speak to Joshua Matthews and had even dared to attempt flirting with him. He had never imagined that Smackle could be that stupid and he had never thought that she was ever going to run around dressed like that, _wanting_ to talk to a guy like Joshua Matthews. She had never once shown an interest in him before.

Seeing her like this, though, it was obvious that the stories weren't completely false. It was clear that she was doing this for a reason. He wasn't sure what the reason could be, but he believed that it was because she wanted to piss him off over what had happened at the mall the night before.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Smackle glared at him.

"You've been hanging around with Zay and Lucas all day. You're dressing like you belong in Maya's clique. And I've been hearing rumors about you flirting with Josh this morning. What's going on with you?' he asked, softening his tone as he looked at her with concern written all over his face.

"Zay and I hung out last night and we did some talking and I realized that I'm not very happy with the person I've been lately. So, I thought I'd try to be somebody else," She shrugged her shoulders, flipping her glossy black locks over her shoulder.

"You can't just change who you are," Farkle smiled.

"Why not? All of you changed. Why is it wrong for me?" Smackle glared at him.

"I didn't change," Farkle argued.

"Oh yeah? Farkle-time, Donnie Barnes, Regular Guy-any of those guys ring a bell, cause they sure as hell aren't the guy sitting in front of me right now," she rolled her eyes.

"Smackle, I was a kid!"

"Yeah? We'll I'm barely seventeen. I have time to do a little more growing and a hell of a lot more maturing. I'm just trying to find myself, Farkle," Smackle sighed.

"Are you doing this because of what happened at the mall the other night? Because I really am sorry about that. It wasn't because I still have feelings for them. I just…I miss my friendship with them," he ran a hand through his hair.

"I know you do," Smackle sighed. "I'm not mad at you for obsessing over them."

"Then what's all this about?" Farkle wondered, furrowing his eyebrows together with a concerned dip right where they creased together, above the bridge of his nose.

"I want to tell you, Farkle…but I can't," she frowned, lowering her head as she slowly shook it back and forth.

"Why? What could possibly be going on that you can't tell me? I thought we told each other everything?" Farkle reached out, taking her hand in his own.

"Farkle, just understand that everything that I'm doing right now is for you, okay? I'm just trying to help you," She pleaded, flashing him a small smile.

"Okay, okay-just one question?" He raised his eyebrows.

"What?" She sighed.

"Can we go back to that whole making out thing?" he asked, flashing her that sheepish half-grin that he knew never failed to win her over.

She grinned, biting down on her bottom lip as the sparkle returned to her eyes. She leaned in close to him, pressing her lips up against his in a soft, quick little peck before she leaned away, turning forwards in her seat and folding her hands on the desk in front of her, waiting for class to start like the dutiful student that she was.

* * *

 _'Til all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said  
Come by it honestly I swear_

Riley couldn't believe the way that her life had seemed to completely change after just one day. It wasn't even a full day. It had all started to change after the morning events involving Maya's clique and Joshua Matthews.

People were noticing her. They were staring at her and they were gossiping about her. She could hear the whispers everywhere she went and, since her schedule didn't line up perfectly with Missy, Darby or Maya's schedule, she couldn't be guaranteed to have company anywhere that she went at school.

The breathing room had been nice, despite the whispers, but it had come with a price. And part of that price had been when Charlie and Sarah had cornered her at her locker after seventh period, before their journalist class together. With their arms crossed and matching, disapproving expressions, it was clear to Riley that they not only agreed on something for the first time ever, but they were both pissed off.

"What's going on with you?" Sarah asked, studying her from head to toe with a disgusted look on her face.

"You've got a makeover and you're yelling at your brother to defend _Maya?"_ Charlie gasped, shaking his head to show just how much he disapproved. "Are you actually doing all of this just to try to win over Lucas?"

"You're better than this. You're not the type of girl to change for a guy," Sarah sighed, running a hand through her hair with concern written all over her face, showing that, no matter what, her friendship with Riley had been real.

It was nice to know that somebody had cared for her, when she was apart from Maya, but it didn't give her the same happiness that having Maya's friendship gave her. She felt guilty for that, but nothing was ever going to compare to Maya's friendship. She needed Maya, because Maya was her missing piece. They completed one another. And if Riley had a chance to have Maya back in her life, she was going to fight for it.

She didn't care what the costs were. Maya was worth it. The people who got hurt in the process were collateral damage and while Riley would always feel bad for having hurt them, she was never going to be able to stop them from getting hurt. If she stopped them from getting hurt, it would mean that she wouldn't get Maya back. And getting Maya back was her priority.

But, how could she ever try to explain to anybody how important her relationship with Maya was? They would laugh at her, pointing out how she had lasted so long without the blonde in her life. How she had deserved Maya's absence after the things she had said to her all those years ago.

"She's Maya," Riley sighed, holding her hands out helplessly. "She's _Maya,_ and she's my best friend. She's always been my best friend. And she's always going to be my best friend. I need her, and this is my chance to get her back. I'm sorry if it hurts you guys, but I can't give this opportunity up. I need my best friend back," she explained.

"Maya's been a bitch to you since freshman year. She's practically ignored your existence. And she flipped out on you at her house two nights ago!" Charlie protested.

"Riley…you know that she has an ulterior motive in this. She doesn't really want to be your friend again. There's more to it than you think," Sarah explained gently. "Don't you get it? This is going to blow up in your face, and when it does, you're going to need us," Sarah reminded her.

"She's not going to hurt me," Riley shook her head.

"Riley, you're not stupid. Why are you acting so stupid?" Charlie snapped.

"You think I'm acting stupid?" Riley frowned.

"You're trusting some girl who treated you like you didn't exist for two years. What do you expect me to think?" Charlie challenged.

"That's enough."

Suddenly, Missy was at Riley's side, swinging her arm around the brunette's shoulders and glaring at the former friend's of the invisible girl. She looked at Riley with a reassuring smile before flashing her a quick wink. Then, she turned her attention back to the other two individuals in the hallway and her fiery rage took over once again, signaling that she was about to begin an ultimate bitch fit.

"I don't care how miserable you guys are. You're not going to try to tear Riley down just because she's found some new friends. None of us want to hurt her. We don't want her heartbroken and we aren't going to cast her aside. We felt bad for being bitches at the party and we wanted to make it up to her. And then she defended one of us like she truly cared about us, and now she's officially a member of our group. Nobody's saying she can't have other friends. You're the ones making her choose," Missy pointed out, crossing her arms over her full chest.

"You're making her change who she is!" Charlie protested.

"Nobody made her do anything. She picked out her own clothes at the mall last night. She picked out her make-up and she picked out a hairstyle. All we did was give her some feedback and advice," Missy rolled her eyes.

"You have every reason in the world to hate Riley after what she posted about you," Sarah pointed out. "So why are you defending her right now?"

"Because I know who gave her all those false leads and I know who encouraged her to write that article," Missy said with a sinister grin on her face, taking a step towards Sarah so that they were face to face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah said, head held high.

"Riley told us everything last night. She told us all about how Marley gave her the false leads but you encouraged her to write the articles without fact-checking, because it would be her big break. And you let her take the fall for it. But, that makes sense, because I know a dirty little secret about you that you'd die if Riley found out," Missy said, her voice in a low whisper.

"What's she talking about?" Riley asked, staring between her old friend and her new friend in confusion.

"She's just babbling. She's lying," Sarah insisted.

"Really? So, you're _not_ besties with Marley and you _weren't_ trying to help her ruin Riley's journalist career before it got a chance to start?" Missy asked innocently, taking a step away from the Maya-look-alike.

"She's lying. She's wrong. Sarah, tell me that she's wrong," Riley pleaded, eyes locked on the girl she had trusted with so much for so many years.

"I…Riley, it's not what it-"

"Missy? Can we just head to class now?" Riley asked, turning her back on Sarah and focusing in on Missy.

"Of course," Missy smirked, hooking her arm through Riley's and leading her down the hallway, heading towards the journalist class.

And Riley walked off, into her new life, side by side with her new friend, as she left her old friends behind. As she walked away from the life that she had come to know. Because, that girl was dead and gone. Now, a newer version of Riley was developing and this version wasn't like the middle school Riley who was full of sunshine and sparkles. And she wasn't the invisible girl.

She wasn't sure who she was going to be. All she knew was that she was going to be a better version of herself than either of the former two. It was time for her to truly find herself.


	11. The Only Exception

**I Don't Wanna Be Anyone Other Than Me  
A GMW AU Fan Fiction Series  
Chapter 11: The Only Exception**

 _ **A/N: Hi everyone! I'm back (somewhat). Hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter.**_

* * *

 _And my momma swore  
That she would never let herself forget  
And that was the day that I promised  
I'd never sing of love, if it does not exist  
_

Maya Hart clenched her fists as she pushed open the door to the locker room that day after school, her blood curdling. With every step that she took, she could feel herself getting more and more upset. _  
_

In her short, ass-hugging, bright red shorts and white sports bra, with the matching red script, she knew that she was going to draw attention to herself. Even more than what would normally be expected by the school's most sought after blonde marching into the boys' locker room like a woman on a mission.

The catcalls started from the second that the door swung shut behind her, and the head of every football player on the team turned towards her, taking in the sight of the scantily clad cheerleader, while they all stood there in various states of undress. Those comments only added further fuel to her already raging fire.

"Maya?"

Josh turned around, away from his gym locker and eyed his girlfriend up and down, appreciatively. Yet, with the cut on his swollen lips and the bruise forming around his left eye, Maya had never been less attracted to the brunette boy. Besides, he wasn't the person that was supposed to be on the receiving end of her anger-not yet, at least.

"I'm not here for you," She snapped, holding her hand up in his face, palm facing out to show him that she wanted nothing more than for him to shut up.

"Maya, you can't be-"

"Shut _up,_ Matthews," Maya snapped, turning her head towards him as she continued to walk, knowing that her blue eyes were full of hostility.

"What's going-"

"Ranger Rick!" Maya barked, stopping in front of Lucas's locker and standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, one leg out in front of her so that her hip was jutted out. Her head was tilted just slightly to the side, and her eyes were narrowed into harsh slits, her mouth forming a tight line.

"Well, if it isn't my short stack of pancakes," Lucas drawled, turning away from his locker and flashing Maya a playful grin. "I think you're in the wrong locker room," he whispered.

"Stop that," Maya ordered, stomping her foot on the ground. "Stop trying to be all cute, because you're anything _but,"_ she said.

"What's going on? You seem mad. Are you mad?" Lucas wondered, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of _course_ I'm mad! You thought I wouldn't get mad that you walked right up to my boyfriend and punched him in the face? What did you think you were doing? I didn't ask you to do that, Huckleberry!" Maya said, her voice raising with every word that came out of her mouth.

"I was _trying_ to defend your honor," Lucas rolled his eyes. "And its kind of disturbing that you still call that idiot your boyfriend after what he did to you," he pointed out.

"I'm not going to break up with him because of something that he did before he and I started dating. That's not right, and it's not fair. And it's not any of your business, Hop-along, because it's between Josh and me," Maya replied, rolling her own eyes back at him.

"What about the fact that he's spent your entire relationship lying to you about something like that? _I_ would never-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what _you_ would do! God, why can't you get it through your thick skull that I'm dating Josh? That I'm in love with Josh? I picked _Josh,_ Lucas, and that's all there is to it. He and I are together and what we choose to do with our relationship doesn't affect you! You're not a factor," Maya cut him off, her words coming out sharp in a way that she knew would hurt him the most.

"Maya Hart! This is the _boys'_ locker room," Coach Andrews, the football coach for the high school, poked his head out of his office and shot the blonde one of his knowing looks. "Get back to where you're supposed to be."

"This isn't over, Huckleberry," Maya replied, turning on her heel and storming out of the locker room, not even bothering to acknowledge Josh on her way out the door.

After all, just because she wasn't going to cause a public scene between her and Josh so that she could voice all of her feelings, it didn't mean that she wasn't still angry with Josh. That he hadn't hurt her, and humiliated her.

She just wasn't going to allow him to further change the person that she was-the person that she had worked so hard to try to become. Joshua Matthews may have a lot of power over her, but he wasn't going to get to be the reason that Maya would start to self-destruct. He would not push her over the ledge and turn her back into the girl that she had worked so hard to leave in the past.

A public scene to yell at Lucas might be something that perfectly matched the description of the old Maya Hart, but it needed to be done.

If Maya was going to continue to be the head bitch in control, she was going to have to get a hell of a lot stronger, and the only way that she could do that was if she left behind her image of perfection and brought out a little bit of the rebellious blonde that had existed back in middle school.

She wouldn't be a girl who didn't believe in hope, not anymore. She wouldn't pick fights and try to hurt the people around her to keep herself from letting people get too close. But she wasn't going to be the girl that people thought they could walk all over. Her days of being a doormat were over, and she was going to make sure that everybody knew that about her.

Maya Hart had never been anybody to be messed with, but now she was going to make sure that nobody ever forgot that again.

* * *

 _I've got a tight grip on reality  
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here  
I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up  
_ _Leave me with some kind of proof you're not a dream_

Lucas couldn't help it. He found Maya to be even sexier than she normally was when she was angry and it made him have some very inappropriate thoughts about the tiny little blonde. He knew that he shouldn't especially because at this particular moment she was mad at him, and the reason for her anger was because he had assaulted her precious little boyfriend.

But, he had always loved the way that she looked when she got mad at him. It was one of his favorite things that she did, because she looked like the perfect combination of sexy and adorable.

The way that she balled her fists up tight and narrowed her navy eyes like she was something more than a five-foot girl who could fit in a keyhole made Lucas want to laugh out loud, because the idea of anybody finding her terrifying humored him more than anything else. But, the way that she stood there with so much confidence turned him on in a way that he couldn't explain.

She had the strongest type of effect on him, and he hated that because she had him wrapped around his finger and she didn't even know it. She had all of this power over him, but she didn't even know that he would do anything for her. If she told him to jump, he'd ask her how high. Anything that she ever asked of him, he would do without a second thought. The tough-as-nails Lucas Friar was absolutely helpless when it came to that tiny little blonde, because his heart turned to mush the second that he laid eyes on her. And when she was angry, it was a whole other story.

After all, whenever she got angry, the only thing that Lucas could picture was the two of them staring at one another, breathing heavy, right after a heated fight. He could picture them falling into one another's arms, kissing one another until they couldn't breath. He could picture lifting her up, right from beneath her perky ass, and tossing her down onto the bed. He could see the way that she would pull him down on top of her, so that they could continue their heavy petting session.

He imagined rolling around with her, removing their clothes in a frantic, heated rush. He longed to be able to kiss every section of her smooth skin, taking her all in in a way that he had always wanted to, but never been permitted to.

But, he couldn't have that. Even when she was so angry, and at him, he knew that what he was dreaming about wasn't possible.

She had chosen to be with Josh, and that was the life that she wanted. She didn't want to be with Lucas Friar, especially this new version of him. She didn't find his bad boy exterior to be enticing, the way that so many other girls did. The moments when she looked at him like she actually felt something were the moments when he started to resemble the boy that she had met back in the seventh grade.

So, maybe he could change.

He had changed once before, after all. It couldn't be that hard for him to change one more time, so that he could become the type of guy that Maya would even consider going out with. The type of guy who was worthy of a girl like Maya Hart.

Since his plan to win her over by helping to get revenge on Riley for everything that she had done to him, he knew that he needed to go about things differently. And if he was going to do that, he needed a game plan that was smarter than just trying to impress Maya by helping her maintain her image of perfection.

He couldn't continue to aide and abet Maya in trying to be the girl that she had tried so hard to become over the past couple of years. Instead, he had to remind Maya of her true self-the girl that she had been back in middle school, when things weren't completely simpler, but they were far simpler than they were now. He had to remind her of the amazing girl that she had been when she had waltzed up to him on the subway and started their romance.

Or, what he had thought was the start of their romance.

The truth was, Maya had seen that moment as a teaching strategy for Riley. That was how the blonde would continue to be the best friend that anybody could have in the world, because she would give the cute boy on the subway to her best friend, so that Riley could take her first step into becoming a confident and outgoing girl. Maya had seen that as one of the many moments in her series of being the best type of friend that has ever existed, while Riley continued to hog the spotlight. That moment had been one of the key moments in the destruction of the girls' friendship, and Lucas knew that even with everything seeming to fall back into place, those feelings would still exist, somewhere deep down.

Meanwhile, Lucas had seen that moment as the moment that he met the girl of his dreams. He had seen a blonde haired beauty with so much potential. She melted his heart with a simple smile. He had fallen quickly, and he had fallen hard. There was no coming back from that, no matter how hard everybody tried to push him towards Riley and no matter how willing Riley seemed to be to accept what he was willing to give her-the scraps of the strong emotions he felt for Maya. And Lucas would always hate Riley for that, because he would always view her as the final obstacle standing in his way of having a relationship with Maya Hart.

His new plan had to be bigger and better than anything that he had ever come up with before. Because, even though he hated to admit it, he was certain that this was going to be the last chance that he would get to win Maya over.

So, even if it took him far longer than he wanted to spend planning his move, he would take his time and make sure it was perfect.

After all, once he had Maya he knew that they would be together forever, so waiting a few extra weeks before being able to call her his own wasn't something that he was too worried about.

Before long, Josh would be the one on the outside looking in, while Lucas enjoyed every single benefit of his relationship with the blonde haired girl that he had fallen in love with as soon as he arrived in New York City.

The blonde haired beauty that had helped him find his place in this new strange world-she was special to him for many reasons, because she had helped him to feel complete. She had helped him find a sense of home in a place where he wanted to hate more than anything else. And for that, he would forever hold a special place in his heart for her.

* * *

 _Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul  
That love never lasts  
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone  
Or keep a straight face_

Farkle had loved Riley from a young age.

He had fallen for the brunette beauty when he was in the first grade, because she had looked at him like he was her hero. He had made the nerdy, tiny boy, feel like he was important to somebody and that made him feel special.

Riley was the girl who always went out of her way to make sure that Farkle saw himself as being even half as amazing as she had always thought he was. Riley wanted Farkle to believe that he was special, because she knew that deep inside, he was going to change the world someday. He was brilliant, and he was unique, and Riley made sure that he never felt like he was a freak for either of those qualities.

As a result, he had fallen in love with her and he had fallen in love with her quickly. He had never been able to look at her like she was less than she was, since the day they met.

She was this beautiful girl, who was smart and intelligent and so full of innocence. She was pure and she was honest. If she thought that Farkle was amazing, than there had to be something special about him, because Riley wasn't wrong about things like that. She just wasn't wrong about people. It was her talent.

Riley saw people for who they truly were-the people that they were on the inside. She saw all of the potential that a person had.

She looked for the ways that they could be better than they already were, and she chose to judge them for those qualities. She saw the best in people, and sometimes that led her to disappointment, but it made Farkle love her, because he couldn't help but find that to be one of the most adorable qualities anybody could have in their life.

She was an optimist, all the way, and it was the perfect contrast to Farkle's scientific nature. He was a scientist, and she was a dreamer. They were the perfect balance.

That was why he loved her, after all. They proved the age old saying to be true-opposites attract.

But, he had loved Maya Hart for just as long.

The tiny blonde was just as important to him as Riley was, but she had a special place in his heart-a different place. He didn't love her because she thought of him as a hero, or as being more than what he saw himself as.

Instead, Maya looked at him like he was perfect being exactly who he was, right then and there. He was a nerdy boy with glasses who thought that science was the most fascinating thing in the world, and even though so many people thought that that was weird, Maya made sure that anybody who felt that way knew that they were stupid, because Farkle was amazing, inside and out.

She didn't want him to change. She never tried to make him a knight in shining armor or turn him into her prince charming.

Maya had always accepted him exactly as he was, and Farkle loved her for that, because Maya Hart had always been a person who judged others at face value. If she didn't think that they were worth her time, she made sure that they knew exactly that. She didn't give them the time of day, if she didn't think that they were the types of people who would make her life better.

That was why her circle had always been small. It had started with just Riley, and then they had let Farkle in, because he had proven that he would never try to pick between them-never choose a side. He would love them both equally, because he could never try to decide which girl he loved better.

They were far too different and he loved them both for different reasons. For that reason alone, it could never be a competition to him.

And that was why, in the end, he had lost them both.

Despite the girls accepting him because of his vow to never love one more than the other, in the end, they had tried their hardest to make him decide. When they had gotten into that horrible fight where they had both said things that they never should have said, they had expected Farkle to pick a side.

They had wanted him to choose, the same way that they had tried to demand that Lucas choose, which girl he favored.

And that was impossible, because he wasn't Lucas.

He wasn't Freak Face Friar, who had been in love with Maya since he had first met her. He wasn't the country boy who thought that Maya was the best thing to ever happen to the world.

And it wasn't because he didn't think those things about Maya. It was just that he thought those things about the both of them. As much as he loved Maya, he loved Riley in the same way.

So, in the end, he had refused to pick a side. And that meant that he had ended up with neither girl. All that he was left with was Isadora Smackle.

He loved her, of course. He loved her in a different way than the sisterly way that he had loved Maya and Riley, but he loved Smackle. He loved her in the way that a boy should love his girlfriend, and he knew that was why he always put her in a different category than he put Riley or Maya. Smackle was different, because his love for her was romantic. But, it didn't mean that he loved her more. His love for her wasn't stronger, and he hated himself for that, because it meant that he would never be able to put her-his girlfriend-before either of the other two girls, and he knew that that was wrong. He knew that he should put Smackle first, because she was the girl that he loved.

Of course, it wasn't a problem, because Maya wanted nothing to do with him and neither did Riley. They had made that very clear as soon as they had each had their final conversation with him.

Still, seeing the pair together as they walked arm in arm through the doors of the hotel where he and Maya lived, stung.

He had always thought that they would be the trio that could never be broken.

Yet, there was Maya, walking towards the elevator with a smile on her face as laughter burst from her mouth, arm hooked through Riley's as the brunette tossed her head back laughing. And Missy Bradford was on Maya's other side, head tilted in close to whisper something to the blonde, while Darby occupied Riley's other side, leaning in just as close so that she could be in on the same joke that the other three girls were in.

They had their own group now, and there wasn't any room for Farkle.

He didn't' belong anymore, and it was because what he had always viewed as being his greatest gift, had become his downfall.

His inability to pick one person that he loved over anybody else, had meant that he had ended up without either girl, and without the first boy who had accepted him as "one of the guys". In refusing to pick between Maya and Riley, he had not only lost the girls that he loved with all his heart-he had always lost Lucas.

And losing the friendship of three of the most important people in his life had created a hole in his heart that he feared would never be filled.

They had broken his heart in a way that he knew was beyond repair.

* * *

 _When I was younger I watched my daddy cry  
And curse at the wind  
He broke his own heart and I watched  
As he tried to reassemble it_

Riley had been a girl that had believed in love from a young age.

She had believed in romance and happily ever afters and fairy tales, because from what she had been able to see, all of those things were attainable.

It was more than possible for her to find her very own Prince Charming, and live happily ever after with him on the first try. Her parents had made it more than clear to her that it was a realistic goal.

After all, Cory and Topanga were an age-old tale. They had met when they were children and they had been the best of friends. They had joked about being married. Cory had met Shawn, and the two had drifted a little as they became "a man's man". But, despite a few strange encounters throughout middle school, Cory had found his way back.

They'd gone to the same college, with Topanga giving up on her big dreams and choosing to follow love. Despite having achieved her goals of an ivy league future, she had looked at the boy that she had loved for so many years and she had vowed to continue to love him, for the rest of her life. She had chosen him, with the promise that she would continue to choose him, until the day she died.

They had had three beautiful children together. The twins, and then Riley's younger brother Auggie. It was the picture perfect family, with their sweet vacations and dorky pictures. Topanga, with her big shot lawyer job, and Cory as a teacher, working to create the same type of important life lessons for his own children as the ones that he had had for himself, from his favorite teacher-Mr. George Feeney.

Their life together was perfect, and it was exactly what Riley envisioned for herself. She knew that one day she would find her very own Topanga-because she knew she was Cory, through and through. She would fall in love, just one time, and that would be the end of it. With her best friend by her side, she could do absolutely anything.

After all, she had Maya Hart, her very own Shawn Hunter. She had the best friend in the world, with a friendship that could withstand anything. All she needed was to find a Topanga, and that was where Lucas came in.

Lucas Friar had waltzed into her life and she had decided from the second that she saw him that they would be together.

They would be, she was sure, the next Cory and Topanga.

Only, that fantasy came to a crashing halt as quickly as it had started.

First, there had been her fight with Maya. After all, Maya had betrayed her trust by falling in love with the same boy that Riley had chosen for herself.

Then, it had become clear that Lucas was going to pick Maya, and Maya wasn't going to stop him. She wasn't going to step aside and let Riley have her way, because she was going to choose her own happiness for the first time ever.

And then had come the grand finale. Her parents had split up. Her mom had stopped choosing Cory before anything else in her life. Instead, she had chosen herself. When she had been offered a major promotion, in London, she had decided to take it, even after Cory's pleas for her to stay, because of their life there.

She hadn't offered him what Riley knew her father was waiting for. Topanga had never once asked him if he wanted to go along with her. It had been, from the beginning, that Topanga would go to London, because she had made too many sacrifices for Cory and she just wasn't happy anymore. So, she had chosen herself, the same way that Maya did, and yet another person had left Riley.

That was why Riley had given up on love. It couldn't be real, after all, if even her parents weren't able to last forever. Whatever she had thought to be true before had been proven a lie. Love was something that was only true in fairytales. That was the only place where the princess found her prince and the two ran off into the sunset together, to live out the rest of their days as happily as possible.

She and Lucas weren't meant to be together. They had been destined for the same heartbreak that her father had experienced, but they had met their doom far earlier than Cory had, which had made it that much easier on them, despite the crushing pain that Riley had felt about the entire thing.

Maybe Lucas and Maya would have better luck, but from seeing Maya and Josh together, she found that hard to believe. Instead, all she could think was that Lucas was meant for the same heartbreak that she had already experienced.

And Maya was definitely going to get her own heart broken by Josh, because Josh was the type of guy that broke girls' hearts for a living.

Riley hated to admit it about her own brother, but she knew it to be true.

And now, her worst fear was starting to look even more like a reality.

Her best friend was going to get her heart broken by her brother, because Josh was a womanizer. He always had been, and even Maya couldn't tame him.

Riley had her best friend back, and her life was starting to look up. She had Maya back by her side, which meant that she was back to feeling invincible. She was able to smile and laugh, and genuinely feel as though she was cared about.

"Riles?"

Maya's voice broke through Riley's thoughts and brought her back to reality. She and the rest of the girls were sitting in Maya's living room, each holding a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and a silver spoon, enjoying their after school snack while they waited for room service to deliver their dinner.

"What's up?" Riley wondered, tilting her head to the side and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, a sly smile on her face.

"Everything okay? You've been sort of quiet," Maya frowned, a worried expression on her face.

"And that's definitely unusual for you," Missy laughed, flashing Riley a quick wink so that the brunette knew that she was just teasing her.

"I'm just….can I ask you a question?" Riley sighed.

"What's up?" Maya asked, repeating her question back at her.

"How are you able to just forgive Josh? After he lied to you?" Riley asked, staring down at her ice cream and mixing her spoon around the container.

"Riley….love is sort of a funny thing. When you love somebody, it's hard to just give up on them," Maya said, her voice soft as she picked up her blonde curls and collected them into a high ponytail. "No matter what they did, you keep giving them another chance."

"And…you love my brother?" Riley asked.

"Of course," Maya said, her words quick and showing Riley that she really did mean them. "I love him so much, that even though he made a fool out of me, I can't help but love him and give him another chance."

"Believe me, Riley," Missy spoke up. "We've all tried to tell her that your brother might be more trouble than he's worth, but she doesn't listen. Not even when we remind her that she could have Lucas Friar bowing down to her if she would just give him a chance," she rolled her eyes.

"She loves him," Darby shrugged. "And we can't judge her for that."

"We sure as hell _can_ when he's an asshole," Missy muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. "No offense, Riley."

"Why are you so against Josh?" Darby snapped. "You were all for him last week. What changed?"

"What changed is that he lied to my girl and he's been lying to her for years. And then he acts like a douche to her at school. Or did you forget all of that already? Because from what I remember, you were there, too," Missy smirked.

"I'm just saying that if Maya loves him, we're not going to be able to-"

"Alright, no more of this," Maya shook her head. "We're going to stop all of this bickering and have some _fun,"_ she jumped to her feet and flashed her friends a large smile.

"And what do you recommend that we do?"

"It's a Thursday night," Maya rolled her eyes. "I _recommend_ that we start planning our epic victory party for tomorrow night, after the game," she smirked.

"After party?" Riley wondered.

"Of course," Maya said, flashing her a smile. "And it has to be absolutely perfect, because this is _your_ first party as one of us, and that makes it _very_ special," Maya replied, flashing Riley one of those mischievous grins that she had missed so much since the pair ended their friendship.

Riley just hadn't realized how much she had missed those smiles until that very moment, when she finally had them back in her life.


End file.
